Mining Indaba LLC, organiser of the yearly Investing in African Mining Indaba, says that the nineteenth Mining Indaba, which ran from February 4 to 7, in Cape Town, welcomed 7 786 delegates – a 10% increase on the event’s record-breaking year in 2012.

Mining Indaba group marketing director Maria Palombini tells Mining Weekly that there were 400 sponsoring companies, 385 of which occupied exhibition stands. She adds that delegates represented 1 800 international companies from 100 countries and territories.

“The Mining Indaba was viewed as a success by all our key partners – delegates, speakers, sponsors, the press and government delegations. Their stories of relationships formed, business deals secured, access to experts and seeing all their goals achieved have reaffirmed our sentiment that this was a successful event internationally and a successful movement for the African mining industry,” she says.

Palombini adds that the organisers also accomplished their mission of bringing together the world’s largest gathering of key international stakeholders in African mining to channel investments into the industry, adding that the Mining Indaba is now the world’s third-largest mining conference defined by scope, behind the yearly Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada International Exhibition and the Perumin Convencion Minera.

“We also realised an important achievement as we welcomed our first recipients of the Mining Indaba bursary programme to the event. This bursary awards $10 000 to each of two outstanding South African mining students and we plan to award two bursaries each year from now on. We look forward to seeing deserving students following in their footsteps,” she says.

Event Highlights

Palombini notes that there were many different highlights at the event, but the organisers identified four main highlights overall.

“The number of women who were featured as distinguished speakers was definitely a highlight, which included Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, international economist Dr Dambisa Moyo and former anti-apartheid activist Dr Mamphela Ramphele.

“It was the women speakers who held the attention of thousands of delegates, as they delivered the most powerful keynote addresses and left the delegates wanting to hear more,” she states.

Palombini notes that the international press coverage at this year’s event was unparalleled, compared with past Mining Indaba events.

“Internationally renowned news broadcasters, including the BBC, CNN, International Dow Jones, Financial Times and Reuters were vying for space and an opportunity to interview speakers.

“Further, more than 45 mining trade journals sent their editors to attend the event. The Mining Indaba is recognised not only as the world’s largest mining investment event but also as one of the world’s most prestigious international investment events. The Mining Indaba enables the world to gain insight into the investment climate and opportunities in African mining,” states Palombini.

Another highlight for the organisers was the number and calibre of professionals worldwide who attended the event.

“Although 7 786 delegates attended the event, it was known throughout the week that more than 14 000 people were in the city as a result of the event. Hotels, restaurants, golf courses and meeting spaces were fully booked,” states Palombini.

Further, the incorporation of the theme, ‘Sustainability in the mining industry’, into the event by most of the corporate mining presentations, keynote addresses and other presentations, outside of the established section of the agenda that dealt with the theme of ‘Sustainable development’, was another highlight for the organisers.

“Corporate executives were awakened to increasing interest from global investors who wanted to know about each company’s sustainability programmes and the reported action items and outcomes tied to those efforts,” notes Palombini.

Challenges

Although there were not many challenges regarding the execution of the event, Palombini notes that meeting the expectations of each delegate is a challenge the organisers face each year.

“As organisers, we are able to take on this challenge, owing to the efficient planning and organising by our core team of about 15 professionals and more than 50 professionals in South Africa who help us actualise our plans for the event.

“We begin planning at least a year in advance and having world-class partners, such as the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC), which diligently stood by us throughout the year, helps us to ensure that all our goals are met. The best way to deal with the challenge is through careful planning of research and logistics, as well as keeping in touch with our global audience,” she states.

Indaba 2014

The Mining Indaba will cele- brate an important benchmark next year – its twentieth anniversary.

“The 2014 event will be marked by celebrations of this achievement and 20 years of democracy in South Africa. The event will take place at the CTICC from February 3 to 6,” says Palombini.

Further, a new element will be added to the exhibition floor in the form of an incubator programme for junior mining houses on the continent.

“The programme will feature an application and selection process for those junior mining houses on the African continent that show the most potential to become international players. It will allow up to 15 companies to exhibit and these companies will, subsequently, have an opportunity to meet with investors and other major players to help them grow.

“The programme is designed to assist these companies in becoming more competitive and in raising awareness about them and, ultimately, to help them achieve status as some of the premier junior mining houses on display at the Mining Indaba event,” Palombini concludes.