Modern Mining April 2022

MINING INDABA PREVIEW

Mining Indaba 2022 promises a bigger and better programme

The recent easing of Covid-19 restrictions bodes well for at tendance at the Investing in African Mining Indaba – the world’s largest mining investment conference, which is scheduled to take place in Cape Town from 9 – 12 May 2022. By Nelendhre Moodley .

A ccording to Investing in African Mining Indaba event director, Fred Noce, the over all response to the in-person conference has been extremely positive. “The appetite to return to live events has returned as restrictions across many geographies are eas ing. With the vaccination progress in South Africa and around the world, we are excited to welcome back the world’s largest African Mining Investment event, which provides a platform for deal-making, allows industry players face-to-face engagements on important industry issues, and creates opportuni ties for high-impact networking and capital raising. However, the health and safety of our attendees and delegates will continue to be a top priority so we have implemented various enhanced safety protocols, and will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation throughout the event,” says Noce. Owing to travel restrictions and safety protocols related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indaba has taken a virtual format since the onset of the pan demic in February 2020, with organisers running the convention as a two-day, content-led event. Even as a virtual affair, the mining indaba secured over 6 000 registrations from around the world and had three African heads of state delivering keynote addresses.

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe at the Mining Indaba 2020. “Mining Indaba Virtual Investment Programme in March 2021 allowed mining companies the opportu nity to meet with global investors and continued to drive investment into African mining. However, there is no substitute for live events and we are delighted to be returning to Cape Town this May,” says Noce. Given the pandemic and the current state of flux, Mining Indaba event organisers initially estimated an in-person delegation of 5 000 for the 2022 Investing in Mining Indaba. However, Noce says this registra tion estimation is pacing well ahead, with organisers expecting to land significantly more people than ini tially expected. A stellar programme in store Event organisers promise a bigger and better pro gramme underpinned by the overarching theme: ‘Evolution of African Mining: Investing in the Energy Transition, ESG and Economies’. “In 2022, attendees can expect insightful

24  MODERN MINING  April 2022