Despite its numerous challenges, Africa remains one of the most attractive continents for mining houses. “There are huge opportunities in Africa,” said Tom Butler, global head of mining at the International Finance Corporation. “The World Bank projects an investment of $87 billion in Africa the next few years with economic growth at 5%.” He said while the continent faced some serious challenges – including eradicating poverty which has in fact increased despite the past ten years of growth – foreign direct investment was increasing, more mining projects were taking off and exploration was yielding positive results. Africa is estimated to hold about 20% of the world’s mineral reserves. “But for mining to be successful it has to overcome some fairly big challenges of which infrastructure is just one,” he said. “To connect the raw minerals with the final destination means travelling in Africa and the roads, rail and port infrastructure needs work.” He said the lack of core infrastructure in the transport as well as the power sector was crucial if the mining sector was to have any chance of success. “Infrastructure bottlenecks in the power sector are negatively affecting mining which has a huge demand for power. The transport aspect is just as crucial to unlock projects that will not go ahead unless the rail and road corridors are in place and the ports can handle the volumes.”
