I have just started my sixth month at  Mining Indaba (Hyve) and it’s been a whirlwind of learning and reconnecting with the mining industry wearing my new hat. I’m no longer a media editor –but now the Head of Content for yes, Africa’s greatest mining event.

Having gotten to grips with what makes Mining Indaba tick, and what I bring to the table, I set about adding to our event in one of the best ways I know how – delivering content. 

Not just any content – content that enrichens our industry’s purpose and direction; content that various stakeholders have indicated an interest in and content that aligns with the greater purpose that we have defined for our event in 2024.  And the best part – I stay engaged with our industry partners all year round – and keep you connected with the industry, and each other – it’s the best way to learn and improve. 

I won’t use the space to explain what this content looks like, or how I have structured it, you can watch me explain it in my Mining Indaba digital launch video here.

The purpose of this, my blog, is to review the theme and content I have spent a month working on and provide some of my own insights and opinions on the topic. And I welcome your comments!

In the month of May I explored critical minerals – but wanted to understand Africa’s potential – not in just providing minerals but in exploring how they can add greater value to local economies in the form of end product manufacturing – like batteries – without compromising on the financial wealth the global world is willing to give for these minerals across the planet.

Some key elements along the road have become quite clear – Africa is the silver bullet to the looming shortfall of critical minerals, but, and this is a big but, there are hurdles, none of them new. The question is, what happens if these African deposits are not developed? Is the concept of a radical halt to our green transition ambitions frozen in its path and what ultimately does this mean for our next, not future, generations? 

I like to look at the Democratic Republic of Congo as the example which in my opinion holds the answer to these questions. The country has a bad reputation for doing business (you know why), yet in spite of this, it is a flurry of mining activity. Without going into lengthy detail – this in basic terms means that if the metal is valuable enough and the project is attractive enough, companies are willing to make sacrifices and struggle for the greater financial good. And the DRC is proof of this. So, should the same not apply to the rest of Africa? 

Perhaps I am being naïve in making it sound simple but it could be. In my first meeting with our Junior Miners Committee one of our members said we need to accept the complexities that Africa has to offer and just work with it and work to keep improving it. Why waste time complaining, rather get on with the job at hand, but never forgetting that conversations to deliver positive change should always be an underlying focus. 

With all that said – what is the way forward? I obviously don’t have all the answers but I do know that Africa can solve our sustainability problems. And this reality is just too strong to ignore and it won’t go away either. Can we come together as an industry to make it work? Can we help build Africa’s own economies together with global economies? Yes, and if I get it right, we’ll figure it out together at Mining Indaba where I aim to push for disruptive conversations and dialogues where we can speak our truth and find answers to them.

We might not solve them in 2024 alone – but a narrative will have begun and that will make a difference.