MINING
Unlocking Africa’ s
Investing in African Mining Indaba 2026 positions the continent to transform its mineral wealth into industrial and economic power.
Africa is poised to turn its mineral wealth into a strategic industrial advantage, and Mining Indaba 2026 in Cape Town will be the platform to make that happen from 9-12 February. According to a statement from the Mining Indaba team, the event will bring together governments, investors, and industry leaders to translate high-level discussions into actionable partnerships, investment, and industrial outcomes.
In November 2025, the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources( DMPR), in partnership with UNDP and Mining Indaba, convened a high-level dialogue in Johannesburg. CEOs, development partners, and key stakeholders across the mineral value chain gathered under the theme“ Harnessing Critical Minerals for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development”. The discussions focused on Africa’ s mineral sovereignty, value-chain development, and competitiveness in a fast-evolving global minerals economy.
Africa’ s leverage: Minister Mantashe’ s calls for coordinated action At the dialogue, South Africa’ s Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, stressed that Africa must adopt a unified approach to the global minerals race.
“ The global economy is undergoing a profound structural shift,” Mantashe said.“ Critical minerals now lie at the centre of geopolitics and industrial policy and, if managed well, this demand can be a game-changer against global inequality.”
He highlighted that Africa holds at least 30 % of global reserves of platinum group metals, manganese, iron ore, chrome, cobalt, lithium, graphite, and rare earths. Yet the continent continues to export raw ore while importing processed products at higher costs.
“ We cannot continue along pit-to-port models,” Mantashe warned.“ Africa must act as a team if we want to move up the value chain.”
14 sabusinessintegrator. co. za