MOJO WORKING?
Has the Mining Indaba had its day?
Next month’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town — once the industry’s premier event in Africa — is doing its best to lure back attendees who were put off by its changing face under the previous organisers
In the heyday of the mining boom, organisers of functions at the annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town pulled out all the stops to attract guests to ever-more glamorous cocktail parties. More than one booze cruise on a fancy yacht in Table Bay in February resulted in green-faced guests clinging to the rails in a howling southeaster, with glasses sliding along the deck. It was never as raw and riotous as Diggers & Dealers in Kalgoorlie Down Under, but the Mining Indaba still had pulling power in the global mining scene. Resources companies, investors, advisory firms and African governments rubbed shoulders at public presentations, intimate meetings and lavish dinners. Seven years ago, the indaba started to change. A prolonged downturn in the resources sector forced mining companies to become thriftier. The organisers kept hiking the fees anyway and cast the net wider, attracting fewer miners and more suppliers. SA mining ministers became increasingly indifferent to investors’ needs. More...
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