IA Connect Mining Series
Invest Africa will host its 9th annual Invest Africa Connect Mining Series in Cape Town this year, from the 9th to the 12th May. This exclusive programme of events will host many high-level business meetings, luncheons, breakfasts and cocktail receptions – all dedicated to identifying and examining investment opportunities across the continent.
Our Partners:
Programme:
Monday 9th May
18:00 - 21:00 Opening Braai: Invest Africa in Conversation with Robert Friedland
Keynote Speaker: Robert Friedland, Founder, Ivanhoe Mines
Speaker: Rob Hersov, Chairman, Invest Africa
Remarks: Dr Christoph Reimnitz, Chief Development Officer, Genesis Energy
For more than 25 years, Robert Friedland has been recognized by leaders of the international financial sector and mineral resource industries as an entrepreneurial explorer, technology innovator and company builder. He has successfully developed a portfolio of respected public and private companies whose initiatives have led to several of the world’s most significant mineral discoveries and mine developments, applications of disruptive technologies and contributions to significant economic growth in established and emerging markets in the Asia Pacific Region, Southern Africa and the Americas. Robert will share his wealth of knowledge with Rob Hersov, Chairman of Invest Africa and our members at this opening event.
Tuesday 10th May
12:00 - 15:00 Lunch: Appetite for African Mining Investment and Managing its Risk
Africa offers investors huge potential across a variety of sectors, but risks abound and nowhere more so than in the mining sector, correct management of these risk exposures can be key to the success of an operation and investment.
Many risks that the mining industry faces require specialist insurance solutions, be they related to investment, physical damage, liability to third parties or other technical matters such as political and regulatory exposures. Indeed, few other commercial enterprises face the types of regulatory and political tests that mining companies do when investing in challenging foreign markets.
Factors such as the pandemic, rapidly rising commodity prices and climate change have exacerbated many risks; however, the pursuit of opportunities in Africa continues steadily. It was announced at the 2021 G7 Summit that US$80bn will be invested into Africa’s private sector over the next five years by development finance institutions and multilateral partners alone.
Effective risk mitigation enables investors to grow their investments and businesses with confidence whilst protecting their balance sheets; small wonder then that demand for both risk management and transfer is high with insurance at the forefront.
Moderator: Warren Bolttler, Head of Marketing and New Business, Price Forbes SA
Panellists:
René Awambeng, Global Head Client Relations, Afreximbank
Mark Dawe, Country Manager, Namibia, B2Gold
Estelle Levin-Nally, CEO & Founder, Levin Sources
Marcus Williams, Global Head for Energy and Extractive Industries, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group
18:45 - 21:00 Evening Reception, British High Commissioner’s Residence
Host: Antony Phillipson, British High Commissioner to South Africa
Keynote Speaker: Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, Executive Chairperson, Kalagadi Manganese
Wednesday 11th May
12:00 - 15:00 Lunch: The move to Clean Energy in Mining
The global shift to a clean energy system is seeing an increase in requirements for a wide range of mineral resources, repositioning the energy sector as a major force in mineral markets.
Separately, demand for Africa's renewable energy solutions are being buoyed by Europe's wartime energy crisis and the need to move away from Russia's fossil energy.
African mining companies are taking a leading role in rolling out renewable energy generation, particularly in South Africa. During COP26 in 2021, the UK and other Western nations agreed a financial support package, to help South Africa abandon coal. While the deal is a step in the right direction, the amount is nowhere near sufficient to ease South Africa’s concerns about decarbonisation. As countries and customers look to reduce their carbon footprint, they will prefer suppliers with lower emissions – a factor which then becomes a competitive advantage. Mines across Africa are engaging with this approach and are practically investigating and testing technologies that can reduce emissions. However, replacing traditional fossil fuel-based technology holds a range of challenges and until newer, less polluting and affordable technologies are available, coal will continue to play a crucial role in mining across Africa.
Moderator: Patrick Smith, Editor, Africa Confidential, and Editor-in-Chief, The Africa Report
Panellists:
Froydis Cameron-Johansson, Group Head of Government & International Relations, Anglo American
Dr Christoph Reimnitz, Chief Development Officer, Genesis Energy
Bertrand Troiano, Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Jeanine Mabunda Lioko, Member of Parliament for Bumba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Former President of the National Assembly of the DRC
Thursday 12th May
08:00 - 10:30 Breakfast: Utilising the Abundant Blessing of Africa: Natural Resources
The African continent is richly endowed with vast natural resources and is home to about 30% of the world's mineral reserves and 40% of the world's gold, according to the United Nations. In Africa, there have been highly volatile commodity cycles that will most likely continue. Despite this volatility, overall long-term trends indicate an upward trajectory in the demand for natural resources. As in the case of oil, this demand is spurred by intensified international competition for resources linked to the rise of so-called ’emerging powers’ like China and India.
Resource-rich countries in Africa have historically shown poor growth performance. They typically also have low investment rates and high degrees of inequality. It is particularly bad for point-source resources such as oil, gas and diamonds and less for diffuse resources. Revenues from their extraction should provide funds for badly needed development and economic growth, but in many cases, instead contribute to the devastation of countries’ governance systems and economic structures.
This could be mitigated by strengthening the negotiations on prices for the resource; efficiently utilizing the resource by adopting the “right” fiscal institutions; and equitably distributing the resource to maximize the society’s welfare. This is premised on the presence of accountable and transparent policy and effective economic governance.
Moderator: Shahab Mossavat, Gapuma
Panellists:
Simon Collins, Board Member, Tantalex, Afrimet
Lawrence Dechambenoit, Global Head of Government & International Relations, Rio Tinto
Fortune Mjoapelo, CEO, Bushveld Minerals
Shirley Webber, Head of Natural Resources & Energy, Absa
12:00 - 15:00 Lunch: Time to Embrace the Mine of the Future
The mine of the future has evolved with advances in technology and the narrative shifting to sustainable solutions. Remedies for rehabilitation are not only focused on the physical environment but the economic effect that mine closure has on the surrounding communities. Technological innovation, including through automation, digitization, new ways of investing and electrification, are all having a fundamental impact on the mining sector, particularly within Junior mining.
The technology used by junior miners provide effective solutions to improving the underground environment and ultimately working toward a greener cost-effective environment. There is an upswing in the commodity process and economically they employ major workforces. Junior mining projects are swiftly becoming very attractive to investors, but they need more investment opportunities. Junior Mining companies have demonstrated that they are a resilient group and a critical piece to keep the Mining sector in Africa thriving, alive and growing.
This panel will consider a range of issues surrounding junior mining in Africa, from available funding methods to what the global energy transition will mean for these miners. We will also hear what their strategies will be in the future for mining with regards to technology, workforce, limitation of resources and smart mining.
Moderator: Sadock Magai, Managing Partner, IMMA Partners, DLA Piper Africa
Panellists:
Boubacar Bocoum, Lead Mining Specialist, World Bank
Raksha Naidoo, Deputy Chairperson, WIMSA
Lord Charles Vivian, Director, Tavistock
Ian Mackay, Senior Manager, PwC Africa
Confirmed Speakers:
