By Mandla Zibi
Following discussions with their South African partners and key mining stakeholders, organisers of the acclaimed Investing in African Mining Indaba have changed next year’s conference dates from the second week of February to the first week of the month: 1-4 February 2021.
In a statement on the conference website, the Director of Sales, Fred Noce, said: “We were presented with an opportunity to move the event forward to the first week of February, thereby ensuring that the timing of the 2021 edition remains consistent with previous years.
“We believe that hosting the event on its usual dates will help our stakeholders with strategic business planning, enable us to deliver another strong edition by maximising attendance, and provide a platform for the industry to meet, reconnect and set the agenda for 2021.”
He reassured would-be attendees that the show will be held in accordance with government’s latest health and safety protocols. Noce also confirmed that the conference would be taking place alongside Africa Oil Week, which he called “our sister event.”
Investing in African Mining Indaba is the world’s largest mining investment conference and the largest mining event in Africa, and as usual next year’s event boasts an impressive lineup of distinguished speakers.
They include the president of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio; the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkam; the South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe; the Chief Executive of Anglo American, Mark Cutifani; and the Chief Executive Officer of Energy and Minerals at Rio Tinto, Bold Bataar.
Solely dedicated to the successful capitalisation and development of mining interests in Africa, the Mining Indaba has become a key annual event on the international mining calendar, and a huge drawcard for the City of Cape Town.
The Indaba unites investors, mining companies, governments and other stakeholders from around the world to learn from each other and to network towards the single goal of advancing mining on the continent.
The showcase is an opportunity to meet with top investors, mining companies and other firms involved in the deal-making process, such as banks and investment brokers, all under one roof.
It is also the only platform where mining company COOs and Project Directors discuss the latest disruptive tech and innovative investment strategies.
The Indaba’s panels and workshops bring together key stakeholders amongst whom is gorged a common vision for a sustainable African mining industry.
Back again at next year’s Indaba is the “Investment Battlefield”, a platform for Africa’s hottest emerging mining companies to elevate their profiles by way of pitching their projects to a panel of judges and investors.
“Pitch your project with even more investors watching around the globe. This year the Investment Battlefield rounds will be hosted online with the final taking place live at Mining Indaba,” says a statement on the Indaba website.
“Make it to the final and your pitch could be streamed live on CNBC Africa just like this year’s finalists. It’s the perfect opportunity to increase your chances of securing funding, you won’t get this kind of exposure anywhere else.”
The competition offers several positive spin-offs for winners, including:
- new connections with high-profile investors.
- direct instant feedback from the investor judges about how you can maximise your appeal to attract funding.
- international media coverage winners receive a free exhibition stand and tickets to the following year’s Mining Indaba.
As part of the build up to its opening in February, the Mining Indaba has scheduled two webinars on relevant mining topics. The first one, titled “Driving the Future: How will supply & demand for fuel cell and battery materials develop?” will be held on 9 September 2020 at 3pm.
The speakers will include Andrew Wilson, the ESG Investments Director at the Aberdeen standard Investments.
Also in the panel will be:
- Colin Hamilton, Managing Director; Commodities Research, BMO Capital Markets.
- Jorgen Sandstrom, Head of Mining and Metals Industry, World Economic Forum.
Some of the issues up for discussion are; the source of the demand for fuel cell and battery materials, and whether has COVID- 19 reshaped the demand and supply of green metals; the major supply chain challenges for mining companies; bulls vs ears – how investors forecast prices for green metals, and other questions.
Another webinar will be held Wednesday 14th October 2020 at 3pm (GMT+1). That one is titled “How can Africa benefit from an increasing demand while managing the mining sector in a sustainable manner?”