Mining Indaba for Exploration and Junior Mining Companies

As capital markets tighten and risk aversion grows, traditional mining finance is evolving - with public-private partnerships (PPPs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and blended finance emerging as vital de-risking tools. This panel explores how these collaborations are transforming.

From autonomous and robotic rigs and AI-powered targeting to low-impact drilling systems and real-time geodata analytics, these technologies are reshaping and fast tracking the discovery of new projects across the globe, and in Africa. This session explores how cutting-edge technologies are transforming exploration drilling into a high-precision and data-rich process.

Exploration is vital for global mining future, but junior miners still face challenges in raising early-stage capital. This panel explores who’s funding exploration in 2026, how juniors are positioning themselves for success, and the role governments, particularly South Africa, are playing in incentivising discovery through new funds, incentives, and regulatory reforms.

Africa’s vast reserves of critical minerals position the continent as a key player in the global energy transition, yet it continues to struggle with the infrastructure needed to unlock full value. With infrastructural challenges including transport, energy and access to water, does Africa have a chance of realising its value addition dreams with the current infrastructural climate, and how can the power of partnerships help close the gap?

Illicit ASM activity continues to drain value from Africa’s mineral economies and limit revenue mobilisation. Can formalisation coexist with large-scale mining, and are governments and regional bodies doing enough to enable it?