COMMENT • sharyn @ interactmedia . co . za
Sharyn Macnamara – Editor •
' ACTION ' – THE OPERATIVE WORD IN AFRICA , NOW !
Last month , African Mining was revved up for action to future-proof the industry at Investing in African Mining Indaba 2025 , while in March we look forward to a focus on energy security at the Africa Energy Indaba 2025 , water planning on World Water Day and diversity on International Women ’ s Day . All equally important , all interconnected – and the operative word that epitomises what is required to move our industry forward is ‘ ACTION ’!
Thought leadership to future-proof mining Fuelled by debate and promises ; ideation and innovation ; insights and thought leadership ; collateral and collaboration shared at Mining Indaba , the industry is poised to move in the right direction and I , for one , am eager to tell the story of what was shared among key mining stakeholders during the event – from the mouths of government , investors , the mines , community , our markets , the youth and women . I encourage our readers to visit both our events page for Mining Indaba ( https :// www . africanmining . co . za / events / investing-in-african-mining-indaba-2025-cape-town /) and the highlights on the Mining Indaba website ( https :// miningindaba . com / Home ) to quietly absorb the insights and highlights shared in an event that was jam packed with important information for Africa and extremely busy . For the full month of March , I will be adding something different each day to our website , which may just reiterate developments or add something new to the debates had .
Sustainability in resource and people Major discussion points in the future-proofing of the industry were that we must ensure that we invest in not only the mining of our wealth of critical minerals ( defined by Africans for Africans ), but also in the downstream industries that absorb the minerals mined through beneficiation , and in the resource required to do so – water and people being paramount ( and top of mind in March each year ), among others .
World Water Day is an annual United Nations observance day held on 22 March which highlights the importance of fresh water , advocating for the sustainable management thereof . On this score , please keep an eye out for our bulletin where water stewardship insights will be shared through an exclusive interview with a leading woman expert in Africa . Watch this space for more . ( Click here to sign up now for our bulletin https :// www . africanmining . co . za / mining-africa-digital-registration / and stand a chance to win a
seat at the table at the annual Women and Leadership conference in Sandton , Johannesburg on 12 March 2025 – Ts & Cs apply , see our African Buzz section in this issue for more .)
Investing in women and STEM careers is an essential step in the journey to future-proofing mining . In line with this focus , the theme of International Women ’ s Day to be celebrated on 8 March is ‘ Accelerate Action ’. According to data from the World Economic Forum ( WEF ), at the current rate of progress , it will take until 2158 – which is roughly five generations from now – to reach full gender parity . 1
“ Imagine a gender equal world . A world free of bias , stereotypes and discrimination . A world that ' s diverse , equitable and inclusive . A world where difference is valued and celebrated .” 1
The time is NOW to take swift and decisive steps to achieve a future-proofed mining industry in Africa . Responsible mining , talent development and water stewardship are all part of our discussion in March on this topic . Tomorrow is not just another day – its our future and we should each personally take ownership of that accountability in any way that we can within our portfolios across all of the elements that feature in this journey and that we have ‘ talked about ’ for so long . •
Watch this energetic video from Investing in African Mining Indaba 2025 to inspire you on your journey https :// youtu . be / elg4ujpzVuo ? si = 86M49WWYqc6tvZnB
Sharyn Macnamara
References :
1 . https :// www . wilpf . org / calendar / international-womens-day-iwd-2025
# AccelerateAction .
Image and logo supplied by Investing in African Mining 2025 www . africanmining . co . za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • March 2025 • 3