JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The diverse turnout of delegates at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, held in Cape Town this week, was an indication of the appetite for mining in Africa from increasingly more investors across the globe.
Mining Indaba group marketing director Maria Palombini told Mining Weekly Online that this year’s conference had attracted more than 7 000 delegates from 106 countries – 40 of which had not been represented at the event in the prior two years.
Interest in Africa was starting to diversify, she said, as countries other than those already vested, such as China, India and the US, eyed a stake in the continent’s mostly untapped resources.
There was an uptick in interest, in particular, from Asian countries other than China and South American countries such as Venezuela.
Further, Palombini pointed out there was a 5% rise in the number of European investors descending on the Indaba this year – the highest increase in five years.
Meanwhile, investors were leaving more optimistic of Africa’s ability to leverage a future commodity boom, particularly as African economies have, for the most part, become increasingly stable and have shown more consistent and predictable growth.
International investors were more comfortable with investing in the continent; however, they were awaiting more certainty regarding regulatory frameworks and partnerships between government and private sector.
Delegates walked away feeling more confident of establishing a footprint in Africa as many of those uncertainties were dealt with or the countries showed a willingness to work towards a resolution.