Modern Mining January 2019

EVENTS

The exhibition area at Mining Indaba 2018. mining companies, EPCM contractors (such as DRA and WorleyParsons), mining consultants, mining contractors (Murray & Roberts Cementation and Moolmans will both have stands) and equipment suppli- ers. Countries represented will include Australia, Canada and India. Brand new at this year’s event will be a ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ competi- tion, part of the Mining Indaba’s Young Leaders programme. Four finalists will be chosen to present their ten-minute pitches to the judges on the Main Stage of Mining Indaba. The winner will be awarded with mentoring time from each of the judges – who include Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Wits University – over the next 12 months to support their career progres- sion, as well as other prizes and publicity opportunities. “The competition builds on our drive to support young talent in the mining industry and help close the skills gap,” comments Alex Grose, Mining Indaba Managing Director. This year’s event will also see the third ‘instalment’ of the popular Investment Battlefield competition, with event organ- isers looking for Sub-Saharan Africa’s most promising companies with a market capitalisation of US$50 million or below. This year’s shortlist will be invited to give ‘Dragons’ Den’ style, five-minute pitches in front of a live audience and a panel of top judges, including senior

representatives from JP Morgan Asset Management, VanEck, International Finance Corporation and Orion Resource Partners to name but a few. Judges provide instant feedback and featured projects are grouped together depending on their com- modity and lifecycle stage. “It is important for junior mining entre- preneurs to be given this opportunity to gain exposure and build relationships with investors and brokers,” says Kael O’Sullivan, Director of Investor Relations at Mining Indaba. “It not only allows juniors to receive first-hand feedback from the investors themselves, learn exactly what investors are looking for and how to increase their appeal but also provides an opportunity for juniors to present them- selves as leading emerging developers and miners.” Contenders in the competition this year will include Consolidated Nickel Mines, which is redeveloping the Munali nickel mine near Lusaka in Zambia; Orion Minerals, which has the Prieska zinc/ copper project in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province; Symbol Mining, which recently started construction of a 40 t/h DMS plant at its Macy lead/zinc project in Nigeria; Theta Gold Mines (previously Stonewall Resources), which holds the Theta gold project near Pilgrim’s Rest in South Africa; Pelangio, which is explor- ing in Ghana; and Deep South, which is pursuing the Haib copper deposit in southern Namibia. „

January 2019 _ MODERN MINING _ 27