African mining is on the brink of a new dawn but ‘business as usual’ is not an option. This was one of the main messages of the annual Investing in Africa Mining Indaba held in Cape Town recently. It's a continent richly endowed with traditional minerals and already home to vast amounts of gold, platinum, copper and coal, and it's future as a global player has further been secured thanks to the numerous finds of lithium, cobalt and other battery metals required for the technological age. “Hope is in the air. We can see the green shoots of optimism coming through,” said Roger Baxter, CEO of the Minerals Council of South Africa (MCSA). Mining across the
continent has been under pressure for several years, forcing major withdrawal of capital and placing most projects on hold as commodity prices dropped after the super cycle. Delivering a keynote at the indaba, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described mining as a sunrise industry, not just in this country but across the continent. Ghana’s President Nana AkufoAddo agreed, stressing that mining could help rapidly grow Africa’s manufacturing sector and be the champion of economic growth on the continent. Mining houses also pledged their commitment to the continent saying while Africa posed risk and challenges, it also held major opportunity. That mining companies are committed to finding that opportunity was clear. De Beers Consolidated Mines said it would spend
around R30 million on greenfield diamond exploration, while Ivanhoe Mines executive co-chairperson and founder, Robert Friedland, said it was investing continuously in its mines, including building Africa’s first fully automated mine. He said he did not share the sentiment of many multinational companies that countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were too risky. AngloGold Ashanti CEO Kelvin Dushnisky shared the company’s plans to develop its Obuasi gold mine in Ghana which is considered to be an engine of growth for the company. Across commodities the picture painted was positive, but the 37 African governments attending the conference also took the opportunity to reiterate that the days of mining exploiting African resources for the benefit of other continents were over. “I believe we have come of age. We should not have to give unusual tax and royalties incentives. And mining companies should not expect to make
extraordinary profits on our continent,” said Akufo-Addo, calling for more beneficiation of raw materials locally. Mining, he said, needed to be win-win in Africa, meaning both the countries and the mining houses needed to see the rewards. Ramaphosa outlined ten principles that were required to promote all-inclusive growth of the mining sector in Africa. This included companies having to
foster growth in the areas in which they operated, partnerships with local governments, investment in local employees, and overall education and training. The sector, he said, should also embrace beneficiation, create a space for SMMEs in the supply and value chain, prioritise women in mining and encourage employee shareholding.
CAPTION: Mining companies should not expect to make extraordinary profits on our continent. – Nana Akufo-Addo
