As African Mining Network guest speaker, Bobby Godsell last week identified sharing risk and reward, pain and gain as a necessary feature of future successful mining on the African continent. As mining follows exploration, the former AngloGold Ashanti CEO and outgoing Business Leadership South Africa chairperson also made a point of public- and private-sector collaboration being advisable to get projects off the ground. Once that happens, communities, employees and governments need to realise that, as with agriculture, mining needs sowing before there can be any reaping. Mineral extraction can be great for the economies of the continent, but all stakeholders have to stand a chance of benefiting for it to be optimally sustainable.