Diplomatist Magazine Africa Day Special 2018 | Page 43

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
AFRICA AS
INDIA'S NEW
MINING FRONTIER
By Mandira Bagwandeen*
A
ccording to a recent growth projection
report by the Centre for International
Development at Harvard University,
India ranked as the fastest growing economy in
the world for the coming decade. 1 Ahead of China
and the US, it is projected to grow at 7.9 percent
annually. India will need to consume more oil
and mined commodities to fuel and sustain its
economic growth. In this regard, Africa, known for
its vast mineral wealth, presents lucrative mining
prospects for its Asian neighbour.
While India has a profi table domestic mining
industry, it has, in recent years, demonstrated
incapacity to keep up with the escalating demands
of Indian industry. For example, India’s coal
production cannot keep up with domestic
demand and is currently falling short by 80
million tons per year (Mtpy) – a shortfall that
is forecast to increase to 269 Mtpy by 2021/22. 2
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s modernisation
push for his country, involving the upgrading
and development of infrastructure also places a
signifi cant demand on commodities such as steel.
Aside from petroleum and diamonds to feed its
massive cutting and polishing industry, India also
imports substantial amounts of coal, coke, copper
ores and concentrates, iron-ore, phosphate rock,
and sulphur. 3
At the annual Investing in African Mining
Indaba investment conference, focusing on
the capitalisation and development of mining
in Africa, Arun Kumar, India’s Ministry of
Mines Secretary, urged his country’s private
sector to partner with African states. 4 Home to
approximately 30 percent of the earth’s remaining
mineral resources, the continent holds much
promise and untapped wealth. 5 Africa has been
ranked by the US Geological Society as having
immense reserves of all manner of minerals
including, but not limited to, diamonds, platinum,
bauxite, manganese, gold, and cobalt.
Already, many Indian companies are mining
in Africa with signifi cant investments in iron,
copper, and steel, and several deals are currently
in the pipeline. In 2004, India’s largest private
miner, Vedanta Resources, bought 51 percent
of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia,
for $48.2 million and later increased its stake to
79.4 percent in 2008. 6 In 2010, Vedanta bought
Skorpion Zinc, in Namibia, off Anglo American
for $707 million and it also purchased Anglo’s 74
percent share in Black Mountain Mining, in South
Africa, for $348 million. Recently, Vedanta has
made some impressive headlines. In April 2018,
the company pledged approximately $700 million
as part of its commitment to the growth of Konkola
Copper Mines. 7 This follows Vedanta’s previous
investment of $3 billion in 2017. In May 2018, it
was reported that Vedanta is considering spending
as much as $800 million on building a zinc smelter
in South Africa. 8
India’s steel giant, ArcelorMittal, has a
notable presence in Africa, mining iron ore in
Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal, and South Africa. 9
In 2007, ArcelorMittal’s $1 billion iron ore
mining project was approved in Liberia. India’s
massive conglomerate, Tata, is involved in a
steel project in Côte d’Ivoire. The company has
a 75 percent share in Tata Steel Côte d’Ivoire’s
Mount Nimba Iron-ore project. 10 Jindal Africa,
a part of the Indian multinational conglomerate
Jindal Steel and Power, has several operations in
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