The 2015 Investing in African Mining Indaba officially began on Tuesday 9 February. The day started with industry leading speakers and insightful panel discussions – all geared to moving the needle on African mining.
The main hall filled up as Minister of Mineral Resources, Ngoako Ramathlodi welcomed delegates, “South Africa is ready for investment, we are leaving no stone unturned in providing a stable environment for investment.”
Shortly after this, our CEO of Anglo American Platinum Ltd, Chris Griffith delivered a keynote address on modernisation as a vital step to building a sustainable mining industry in South Africa.
“We simply have to embrace innovation if we want to find more productive, efficient and sustainable ways of extracting value from the minerals we mine,” said Chris.
In his speech, Chris alluded to some key steps being taken by Anglo American in its modernisation strategy in South Africa. These included returns for shareholders, solid labour relations, and mechanisation
If you weren’t able to attend his speech of watch it via live stream, watch the full recording here - http://bit.ly/16JFRpc
Another big attraction of the day was a distinguished keynote address by former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair. With extensive experience working in Africa through his Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), Blair was able to give his perspective on our continent, its future and the difference between success and failure.
He stated that despite the drop in commodity prices, 10 out of the top 50 growing economies in the world are in Africa. “The mining sector remains absolutely vital for Africa’s future and even with the sharp declines in prices, there are tremendous opportunities and there will, no doubt, be an adjustment and reshaping of the face of mining within Africa over these next few years,” said Blair.
After this, CEO of our Coal SA business, Themba Mkwanazi participated in a panel discussion on the new realities facing mining and metals. Sustainability is key he said. “What we are doing today is not good enough. We always need to begin with the end in mind in terms of the positive impact we have.”
In addition to this, the conference took a detailed look – country by country – into the promises that Africa holds with speakers and representatives from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Kenya and Angola.
The day came to a close as many delegates filed into shuttle busses that ushered them to our annual Mining Indaba gala dinner, where our platinum and diamond businesses showcased the importance of beneficiation.
We are now half way through the conference, so keep following our channels to stay in touch and join the #MiningIndaba conversation.