ON SITE
Gwede Mantashe, South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, is under a
lot of pressure as the electricity crisis in South Africa escalates.
Lacklustre interest
The one key observation at Indaba was
the lacklustre interest from investors in
South African affairs, with other African
countries stealing the show. For the past
five years or so Mining Indaba coincided
with the President of South Africa’s State
of the Nation Address. This year it didn’t.
For whatever reason, it was a blessing
in disguise. For once, the focus was on
mining in Africa and not on South Africa,
despite the opening address by South
African Minister of Mineral Resources and
Energy, Gwede Mantashe.
gas finds and have done a lot to attract
foreign investment. Many companies
would rather do business in countries like
Ghana, Senegal or even the DRC than in
South Africa.
Mark Bristow, CEO and president
of global giant Barrick Gold, has on
numerous occasions said that he would
not do any exploration work in South
Africa. While Canadian, Australian,
Chinese, Russian, Turkish, Indian, and
yes, even some South African junior
miners and exploration companies
flock to make the next big discovery
elsewhere in Africa, the South African
government, despite its commitment to
attract exploration companies, has not
done so.
The bottom line is that there are
much better opportunities north of the
Zambezi River.
Sierra Leone’s geophysical
survey
The Mining Indaba is a wonderful
event about mining in Africa, and that’s
Africa north of the Zambezi
The economies of many African
countries in east, west, central and
north Africa have grown significantly
over the past five years. Most of them
host substantial reserves of mineral
resources, and with technology, it has
become easier to discover and unearth
deposits. Moreover, it has become
much easier to do business in countries
previously regarded as no-go areas.
On the other hand, South Africa’s
economy is expected to remain stagnant.
Countries like the DRC, Angola, Ghana,
Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal
and Mozambique (the list goes on),
are making not only great mineral
discoveries but phenomenal oil and
12
APRIL 2020
The mood was subdued at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
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