Mining Indaba review
stressed the importance of maintaining
a balance, because if everybody did that,
Mining Indaba would not survive since
nobody would attend the actual conference.
The team has worked hard to bring back
the investment focus of the show, to draw
people back into the conference. “We’ve
completely remade the content and
segmented it against different markets.
That’s helped to pull more people back into
the event. Ultimately, it’s better for everyone
if you are in the event,” Chapman said.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing delegates at the conference.
Implementing the changes
Based on feedback from the research,
Mining Indaba organisers decided to
make changes to improve the conference
in 2019. The content was revamped to
include a hosted buyer programme and
an intergovernmental summit for bilateral
meetings between international and
African governments, among others.
Furthermore, government delegates
increased to close to 500. A highlight for
the 2019 conference was the inclusion of
two heads of state from Ghana and South
Africa, Nana Akufo-Addo and Cyril
Ramaphosa, respectively, as well as 37
ministers in attendance. Grose expressed
his wish to have more heads of state
attending Mining Indaba in future.
“In 2019, you’re going to see us cementing
that and expanding on it. We are not
reinventing the wheel again because we got
such good feedback and our audiences in
some cases doubled or tripled,” Chapman
said. The number of mining companies
increased to 300 plus.
probably inundated with meeting requests
from miners wanting to present or discuss
projects. As a result, getting an appointment
to meet with potential investors could be a
monumental task for junior miners. investors were more likely to bump into
each other often. This created a perfect
networking platform for both parties. “It’s
very important to have those groups of
people close together,” explained Chapman.
‘Championing Africa’s sustainable
economic growth’ was the theme for the
2019 Mining Indaba. “The event is about
connections; we want people to connect
and do business — that’s really important.
But also, it’s about driving investment into
the African continent and the mining
sector. It’s about all stakeholders benefiting
from that,” Chapman explained. One of
the ways to achieve this is by exposing
junior miners to investors. This year saw an increase in the number of
junior mining companies taking part in the
Investment Battlefield — a competition
which affords junior mining companies the
opportunity to pitch their projects to a panel
of judges who give them instant feedback.
The judges, who are made up of high-profile
investors, decide on who will ultimately win
the competition. This year, 22 junior mining
companies participated, with Prospect
Resources walking away as the winner for
their lithium project located in Zimbabwe. Getting investment for projects is among
the many challenges facing junior mining
companies. Potential investors can be
difficult to get in touch with because they are The junior mining forum was part of the
investor pavilion where the investment
lounge was moved to the junior mining
forum. By so doing, junior miners and Another first this year was having an
entire day dedicated to battery metals.
The idea was to get car makers, battery
manufacturers, and mining companies
with relevant minerals for batteries to
engage with each other. These included
mining companies of cobalt, lithium, and
vanadium, among others. The battery
metals discussion was from an investor
viewpoint, where mining companies
received an outlook on what the battery
market looks like and what they need to do
to take advantage of the market. The day
also provided a platform for an important
discussion regarding responsible and
sustainable mining of the minerals required
in the production of batteries.
Accommodating junior miners
www.africanmining.co.za
MARCH - APRIL 2019 AFRICAN MINING
23