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Indaba celebrates silver anniversary, reaffirms commitment to Africa

THE PLACE TO BE The Investing in African Mining Indaba has maintained its status as the premier mining event for a quarter of a century

2012 EVENT Then Minister of Mineral Resources Susan Shabungu had to reassure delegates that nationalisation was not the policy of the ANC nor the South African government

Photo by Reuters

DEEP THOUGHTS While the focus on investment remains paramount, the Investing in African Mining Indaba also tries to reflect on and stimulate conversation around the global and societal impact and effects of mining

2017 EVENT In his last opening address at the event, then Minerals Resources Minster, Mosebenzi Zwane, spoke about the finalisation and gazetting of the Mining Charter and reflected on the Lily Mine accident

2005 EVENT The then Minster of Minerals and Energy Affairs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka spoke about the importance of beneficiation, while the first rumblings on the 'empowerment charter' were aired

Photo by Reuters

25th January 2019

By: Nadine James

Features Deputy Editor

     

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The 2019 Investing in African Mining Indaba – to be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 4 to 7 – will be the twenty-fifth iteration of the event, and the “world’s largest mining conference” having reached this milestone is testimony to its relevance and value, says Minerals Council South Africa public affairs and transformation senior executive Tebello Chabana.

The event has grown from just under 400 attendees and one South African Parliament representative in 1994 to a platform that typically attracts a minimum of 4 000 people, including heads of State, Ministers and CEOs from the most noteworthy mining and financial firms.

Mining Indaba MD Alex Grose notes that this growth is one of the reasons international trade exhibition organiser ITE Group acquired Mining Indaba in 2018. “They bought us because we’re doing very well. In August, we won the Conference Awards’ ‘Best Large-Scale Event’ category, which encompasses events across any industry or sector in the world.”

In terms of financial impact, Reuters reported in October that the event had generated sales of £7.2-million (R115-million) in the year ended February 2018.

Grose adds that ITE, as a “purely events-driven company”, will invest heavily in the top 20 events in its portfolio to accelerate their growth and, perhaps, create or leverage synergies between events. “ITE also owns Africa Oil Week, which is also hosted in Cape Town . . . there might be potential to do something there,” he comments, noting that both pertain to extractive industries and, therefore, have similar stakeholders in terms of service providers and government departments.

However, Grose states that the acquisition will not have any impact on the Mining Indaba’s scope or content in the immediate future, as ITE believes that it is best not to fiddle with proven success: “It’s the same Indaba with the same core focus of attracting mining investment."

2019 Themes

Mining Indaba content director Harry Chapman says that the event’s overarching theme is championing Africa’s sustainable economic growth, and that, apart from facilitating minerals investment, other themes pertaining to core factors or trends affecting the industry globally are sustainability, resource nationalism, battery metals, gender diversity, innovation and growth.

He notes that the Indaba’s content derives from feedback and input from all mining stakeholders, including insights from financial institutions, government departments, mining companies, service providers and investors. This data is used to determine the major themes for the event in any given year.

“There has been a lot of excitement around battery metals . . . and about the potential use of cobalt, nickel and copper in the electric vehicle space. [Thus], we will have a full day dedicated to battery metals.”

He adds that the Indaba puts a lot of emphasis on providing an African context: “We are an African event – proudly so.”

While the Indaba draws on global trends, the discussions and presentations are structured to always contextualise content for the African environment “to try to explain what a trend means for and within Africa”, says Chapman.

Grose also notes that the organisers try to find unexpected and unconventional voices to speak on developments in the mining industry. Using lithium as an example, he notes that, instead of just having a mining company giving a presentation on best practice, or analysts presenting on supply and demand factors, the Indaba has brought in car manufacturers to outline their plans and what they expect in terms of supply from the mining sector.

With regard to resource nationalism, Grose notes that, given the primary goal of attracting investment, it is important to inform all stakeholders of the trends in mining policy: “It’s important to know what government strategy is, what the regulation is, who the Ministers are and what their goals are”.

He adds that the Mining Indaba’s ability to disseminate policy and project information to a wide and appropriate audience is why governments want to work with the Indaba and be part of it. “We provide a platform that enables them to demonstrate to the world that they are open for business, have workable policies and are a good place to invest. We had 34 Ministers attending last year. I can’t think of many events with that level of international government representation.”

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) confirms this, noting that it is “imperative” that it is represented at prominent mining conferences to assure investors of the State’s stability and regulatory certainty, as well as promote new investment opportunities that the country has to offer.

Chapman adds that one of the most instrumental bits of feedback he received while interviewing government representatives on how best to support their aims and objectives was that they wanted to have bilateral discussions with other governments, which led to the establishment of the Ministerial Symposium and the Intergovernmental Summit.

With regard to sustainability, he explains that the Indaba organisers reached out to and now work closely with communities and faith groups to highlight the issues between these groups and mining companies. One of the keynote speakers at the 2019 event will be the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba.

Having taken on the responsibility to support and drive gender equality in the sector, the 2019 Mining Indaba will showcase more women. More female speakers will feature at the event – not at standalone sessions on the sidelines but as speakers throughout the event on a range of topics, says Chapman.

Chabana adds that the Minerals Council supports the event’s initiative to increase the participation of women and showcase women leaders, reiterating the Minerals Council’s stance that “transformation only truly happens if we plan for it”. In light of its support for the initiative and its in-house values and ideals, Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter will share the stage with Minerals Council board member Deshnee Naidoo.

The 2019 event will continue its focus on innovation, having introduced the Mining 2050 programme last year. Chapman comments that this year’s programme will delve into topics such as the future of work, the digital mine, automation and sustainable project management.

“The final theme considers growth strategies. We’ll explore whether growth will be driven by mergers and acquisitions or greenfield exploration financed through joint venture partnerships. The sector is in a growth stage; we’re looking at how we can support it.”

Influential Force

In terms of the Indaba’s reputation as an impactful event, Chabana states that, “for much of the sector, it’s the most relevant event on the calendar”.

“Mining Indaba provides a neutral platform from which to debate the big issues – with a specific focus on bringing investment into Africa. Some of the discussions take place on stage, but many take place behind closed doors – at the Ministerial Symposium, for example,” he points out, adding that this is just one of many reasons why the Minerals Council has long-standing ties to the event.

The extent to which people care about the Indaba stood out for Grose when he became MD in 2016. “Even the people who wanted changes cared about its success . . . I think it’s because a successful Indaba has positive connotations for the industry.”

Chapman notes that it is appropriate to reflect on the impact of mining on the continent over the past two decades during the event’s silver anniversary, and topics to drive this reflection have been “scattered” throughout the agenda.

The DMR asserts that mining’s contribution to the African economy “remains massive” in various economic sectors and there are important multiplier effects associated with its growth and, as “the sector remains the largest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) of various African countries”, its contribution to the continent’s GDP, estimated at $2.7-trillion, cannot be underestimated.

“For many African countries, mineral exploration and production constitute significant parts of their economies and remain key to economic growth. Mining has attracted vast quantities of foreign capital, and necessitated the establishment of stock markets, universities and other modern institutions.”

The DMR adds that the royalties and income taxes generated by the industry have been used for socioeconomic projects on the continent, and that the industry has helped shape labour markets, drawing swathes of Africans from subsistence economies into paid employment.

In as much as the Mining Indaba has facilitated the growth and successes of the African mining sector, it has also facilitated the growth of the continent. However, Chapman notes that the Indaba would like to have an even more tangible impact; hence, the introduction of the Leaders of Tomorrow Competition as way of demonstrating the organisers’ support for and belief in the African youth.

The competition is open to everyone under the age of 35 whose innovative project or thesis will further the fields of mining safety, mineral recovery, strategy, exploration or resource management. Chapman notes that the winner will have access to mentoring, enjoy free accommodation at Mining Indaba 2020 and gain sufficient media coverage and industry recognition to catapult his or her career.

During its twenty-five years, the Mining Indaba has had some challenges – such as almost relocating to Durban and moving away from its investment focus and losing swathes of its audience as a result – however, its ability to self-correct and adapt to the needs of the African mining sector speaks to the commitment of every stakeholder to ensure that the Indaba remains the pre-eminent mining event for years to come.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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