PODCAST | Where to next for the mining sector?

With SA’s crucial mining indaba taking place from February 6-9, Business Law Focus host Evan Pickworth interviews Ntsiki Adonisi-Kgame and Mihlali Sitefane from ENSafrica about whether policy support is sufficient to spark change and drive investment.

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Mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe will be one of the main speakers on day one of the conference, and he will be joined by senior global and local mining executives, as well as leading government and business leaders from the rest of Africa, the US and Middle East, among others.

This comes amid concern that SA needs to do far more to remain competitive, with other countries making major future-focused strides to gain and grow market share. It also comes amid the spectre of unprecedented, debilitating load-shedding, which will remain the elephant in every room at the conference centre.

SA’s mining policy backdrop is impressive, but the key focus needs to be on implementation and action.

The climate will be a key theme, with the mineral intensity of the low-carbon economy called for by the Paris Agreement on climate change — together with the ongoing multiple countries’ strategies to secure resilient supplies of minerals and metals for their economic and national security needs, which are seen as representing an opportunity for Africa to unleash its potential. This can take place in critical minerals and metals value chains, including for its economic diversification and to secure its own needs in the future.  

The scale of the challenge to make the mining industry truly diverse and inclusive for all will be another key topic. Although progress has been made and several companies have set targets for accelerated action, the challenge remains significant.

It will, however, also be imperative to open the door to more investment in the right areas in line with the global economic recovery and the priority of energy transition.