Page 21 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)

FORBES AFRICA
FOCUS • MINING

The Mining Indaba
underway in Cape Town
IKE A DUMP TRUCK
onamine,thefour-day
MiningIndabainFebruary
LinSouthAfricaspilledforth
atorrentoftopicsthatkeptnearly
7,000delegatestalkingforfourdays:
gold;power;preciousmetals;Ebola;
risk;aninvestmentbattleinaboxing
ring;batterymetalsandabishopfrom
Birminghamlookingforabounty.
Pardonmyalliteration,butitwasa
remarkableweekifyoulookedbehind
thescenes.
Dealsemerging,withinweeksfrom
theMiningIndabamaybefewandfar

between,butinthenextfewmonths
thereislikelytobeaction.MiningIndaba
oldhandsdescribethenetworking
gatheringasacatalystthatushersin
deals,albeitinthelongterm.
Inrecentyears,manythoughtthe
MiningIndabawasmirroringthecloud
overSouthAfrica’soncevibrantmining
industry.Theindustrycontendswith
regulatoryuncertainties,risingcostsand
fallingproductivity.
Risingcommoditypriceshavelifted
thegloom,slightly,thisyear.
Palladiumprices–aplatinumgroup
metal–haverocketedinthelastyear
asdemandhasgrownforcarcatalytic
convertors.AndrewvanZyl,amining
analystwithSRKConsulting,saidAnglo
Platinumhaddoubleditssharepricein
thattimeonthebackofthepalladium
boom.Goldandso-calledbatterymetals
havealsopickedupinpricesincethelast
MiningIndaba,butmoreofthatlater.
Theorganizersclaima7%increase

inattendancewithoneAfricanheadof
state,around40ministers,600investors
and280executivesfromjuniormining
companies.Juniorminersarethescouts
oftheminingindustrywhospendtheir
livesgraftingandgrubbingawayon
miningprojectsthatfewknowexist.
Theyrangefromtwomen,withan
excavatorandadumptruck,tosmall,
robust,lean,companiesreadytogo
anywheretodevelopaminingdeposit.
Theycashinbysellingonthedeveloped
asset to major miners who have the

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