Environmental Assessment
Volume B-3.10
Mine
Visual Aesthetics
Ambatovy Project
139
January 2006
Most visual effects will occur during the construction and operation phases of the
project, as shown in the linkage diagram for visual aesthetics (Volume H,
Appendix 9).
3.10.5 Impact Assessment
During construction and operation phases, vegetation will be cleared, landscape
features will be altered, industrial buildings will be constructed and dust and
visible plumes will be released from the mine site. Following closure, most
sources of visual impacts will be removed, but landforms will be altered.
3.10.5.1 Assessment Methods
Topographic information, photographs and on-site observations were used to
describe current views. Baseline topographic data and project topography
models were used to develop digital elevation maps from which to generate
viewsheds. Key viewpoints affording “worst case” views from locations close to
the mine were selected and ground-level views were generated using topographic
models. The future views were compared with baseline views in these cases.
An overall overhead view of the mine site topography at its maximum
development phase (year 27) was generated to provide a visual impression of the
project as a whole for readers; however, this view is not representative of a
typical view to be seen by local residents or tourists, and was not used to evaluate
visual impacts.
3.10.5.2 Assessment Criteria
The assessment criteria used for visual aesthetics are presented in Table 3.10-2.
