More than 7,000 people, including two state presidents, are expected to attend the annual Investing in African Mining conference, which opens in Cape Town on Monday.
The conference brings together mine operators, investors, advisers and government leaders from Africa and around the world. As such the conversations in the background could be as much about geopolitics and governance as they are about grades of ore.
The formal agenda is often a good guide to the issues preoccupying the mining industry globally — this year the programme has a strong focus on energy transition and the minerals needed to support it, as well as on communities, gender, labour and other “ESG” (environment, social & governance) issues.
US under-secretary of state Jose Fernandez will attend the indaba for a second time this year, in a move which is seen not only as reflecting the priority which the Biden administration has placed on “strategic minerals” for the green energy transition but also the US’s efforts to build its influence on the continent to counter China’s influence.
Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, who will be at the indaba for the first time, is expected to be a big drawcard, with the DRC’s rich endowment of “green” metals such as copper offsetting its human rights and child labour issues for some investors.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to give the keynote address on Tuesday, and the conference organisers report 11 other SA cabinet ministers will be there. Those include mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe, who will open the conference. Outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter is on the programme chatting to outgoing Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter in what is expected to a “robust exchange” according to the Hyve Group’s Tom Quinn, who co-chairs the indaba advisory committee with former mining trade unionist Frans Baleni.
Quinn said the 7,000 registrations included 1,280 investors, more than 550 mining companies or mining exploration companies, 56 government ministers and the two presidents. Among leading mining house CEOs on the programme are Anglo American’s Duncan Wanblad, Newmont Mining’s Tom Palmer and Rio Tinto’s Sinead Kaufman.
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