Local inhabitants armed with spears and slingshots have been protesting against the low prices the company paid to buy their land and the employment policy at its mineral sands operation near Fort-Dauphin at the island’s south-east tip. They blocked workers of Rio Tinto QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) inside the site, and though some were evacuated, chief executive Nyfanja Rakotomalala remained trapped inside with 178 others, according to company spokesman Brechard Luc Loyola.
See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/9797182/Rio-Tinto-threatens-to-exit-Madagascar-after-CEO-is-trapped-by-protesters.html#.