UNDERGROUND The Investing in African Mining Indaba is a perfect forum to discuss issues pertinent to mining companies
With decreasing productivity, poor capital discipline and cost inflation plaguing the global mining industry for the past two years, the consulting arm of multinational mining materials company DuPont, DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS), will, at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, discuss the need for mining companies to employ a comprehensive management system that focuses on how to effectively allocate their resources, says global communications company manager John Kern.
He tells Mining Weekly that the event, which runs from February 9 to 12 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, is the ideal forum to discuss this issue, since it is one of the most important global mining events, bringing together industry leaders to discuss and solve the problems affecting the industry. “Few other mining events go beyond information sharing to finding solutions,” he adds.
The Mining Indaba attracts a high-profile international audience, bringing together key stakeholders from the mining industry, government and civil society. It therefore offers DuPont the opportunity to interact with other thought leaders and discuss current issues affecting the international mining industry, notes Van der Walt.
He adds that DSS values its participation in conversations with mining industry leaders, as the company highlights collaboration as the most effective tool for solving pressing challenges worldwide such as population growth, dependence on fossil fuel and resource sustainability.
“All industries and regions are affected by demographic factors, and the climate and technological changes that complicate the implementation of a sustainable growth strategy.”
Kern tells Mining Weekly that collaboration among mining companies, a lack of innovation in the sector and how to increase productivity are some of the issues that the Mining Indaba should tackle. This is not limited to technology, but also includes the way in which mining companies operate, she adds.
Sustainability has also become a challenge for mining companies and will, therefore, be highlighted at the event. Mining is an industry that is widely perceived as wholly unsustainable, as it focuses on the extraction of finite natural resources, and this presents a difficult challenge for the mining community, Kern notes.
This year will be the fourth successive year that DuPont will be present at the Mining Indaba. The company’s activities in the past have included hosting CEO forums to present its solutions to the mining industry, he says. “We keep coming back because we feel the issues raised at the event are prescient, and the audience is qualified enough to make a difference.”
Further, Kern notes that DuPont aims to develop partnerships with mining companies that have a similar goal in mind – committing to sustainable growth and creating value for shareholders and society at large, while reducing their environmental footprint.