ALEX GROSE Participating junior miners will receive feedback from a judging panel comprising members from leading investment management groups at this year’s Investment Battlefield
Identifying the best junior mining companies for investors and supporting the development of new projects is at the core of the annual Investing in African Mining Indaba, says event organiser Mining Indaba MD Alex Grose.
“In 2017, we plan to take this one step further with the Investment Battlefield competition,” a first for the Mining Indaba, which will run from February 6 to 9 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Junior mining companies will pitch their projects to a panel of expert investors at the event, competing for several prizes aimed at supporting Africa’s new generation of junior miners in the development of fresh projects.
Over a one-day session on February 7, 16 junior miners will pitch their projects and receive live feedback from the judging panel. With judges from leading investment management groups, including the likes of Investec’s Hanre Rossouw, Colonial First State Global Asset’s Joanne Warner and Earth Resources Investment Group’s Georges Lequime, the competing companies are set to receive invaluable input into their projects, enthuses Grose.
Companies taking part in the Investment Battlefield competition must be emerging mining companies – a relatively new business currently developing one or two projects in Africa with a market capitalisation of below $50-million or a privately owned company with equivalent market value. Competing companies must also be easily identifiable as actual mining companies and not simply own exploration licences.
An overall winner and a runner-up will be selected. The winner will receive a 3 m × 1.5 m exhibition stand and a ten-minute speaking slot in the Investment Discovery Forum at Mining Indaba 2018. The winner will also be promoted in a full-page article in this year’s Mining Indaba post event report as the ‘hottest’ emerging mining investment opportunity in 2017. In addition, the winning company will receive three free passes for Mining Indaba 2018 and access to the investor-relations concierge service to assist it in confirming investor meetings at next year’s event. Free accommodation will further be supplied for one member of the winning team for Mining Indaba 2018.
The runner-up in the competition will also be promoted in the post event report in a full-page article as the second-‘hottest’ emerging mining investment opportunity in 2017. The company will also be given access to Mining Indaba 2018’s relations concierge service and receive two free passes to attend the event in 2018.