Page 27 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)
P. 27
FORBES AFRICA
FOCUS • MINING
canandourcompanyisexpandingtomakesurewe
can.” Mining activity
in Sierra Leone
Mojapeloisalsoplanningtoinvestinafactoryto
makethebatteriesfromtheminedvanadium.Heagrees
thatAfricashouldbeextractingmorefromitsraw
minerals.
BenediktSobotka,headoftheGlobalBattery
AlliancesetupbytheWorldEconomicForum,said
attheMiningIndabathatAfricaneededtogetbusy
makingbatteriesaswellasminingtherawmaterials.
“Ifyoulookatacellphonebattery,itcanretailfora
thousanddollars,whiletherawmaterialscancostcents.
miningindaba.com; Waldo Swiegers/ aboutethics;oneofthethemesofthisyear’sMining ‘SIERRA LEONE mining industry by 2025,” he says
Thatishowmuchmoneycanbemadeinthebattery
businessandAfricaneedstogetintoit,”saysSobotka.
Asidefrommakingmoney,therewasalotoftalk
Indabawasso-calledESGinvesting–thatistakinginto
accountenvironmentalsocialandgovernanceissuesas
“We can double the size of our
wellaspureprofit.
A FLAGSHIP
Nosurprisetherewithminingthesedayslookingto
with genuine pride and enthusiasm.
In this, inspiration has come from
seetheconservativeChurchofEnglandleavebehindits
completed an aerial survey of the
MINING’
hassocks,prayerbooksanddraughtychurchestohead
from cleanupitsact.Butitwasasurprise,atleastforme,to OF AFRICAN above. The government has just
country’s mineral wealth and the
toAfricainsearchofethicalinvestinginmining.
results, to be released in March, look
sourced ReverendDavidUrquhart,aformeroilcompany The coronavirus is causing havoc good at first sight. They show that
TheavuncularBishopofBirmingham,theRight
Sierra Leone has a healthy stock of
in China, killing hundreds of people
Images executive,spentyearsdoingchurchcharityworkand and threatening to also wipe one per platinum group metals, rutile – a
prized and pricey titanium dioxide
cent off the country’s growth rate – a
gaveuphislucrativedayjobtobecomeamanofthe
used in aerospace and pigmentation
born-again African mining nation
Images; clothafterachildhewashelpingaskedhim:“Whenare must surely feel the bitter pain of this – that Sierra Leone has a claim
yougoingtodothisfull-time?”
owning most of the world supply.
human and economic tragedy.
There is also an abundance of coltan
“Iwenttoseemybosstotellhim.Isawhehada
The deadly Ebola virus killed
Getty Bloomberg via Getty Images; Photo by Patrick ROBERT/Sygma via Getty Images bookopeninfrontofhimwithacalculationastohow nearly 4,000 people in the West – used to bind together the inside of
laptops – along with gold, diamonds,
African nation of Sierra Leone
via muchmorehecouldpayme.HethoughtIwasgoing between 2014 and 2016. It also all bauxite and chromite.
toanotheroilcompany.WhenItoldhimIhadgotthe
“We want to make Sierra Leone
but killed the country’s thriving
BOSCH/AFP callandwasgoingintothechurch,heslammedthe mining industry. a flagship of African mining,” says
Mattai.
bookshutandsaid‘inthatcaseIcan’thelpyou’!”the
When the disease broke out
Already the moribund mining
in May 2014, Sierra Leone had
churchmanchuckled.
golden goose has been clucking back
RightReverandUrquhartarrivedinCapeTown
RODGER lookingfornewinvestmentsforthe£4.5billion($5.87 recovered from the ravages of its into life. Changes in government
draining civil war and was exporting
mining rules have tempted back 15
a billion dollars a year in iron ore
billion)ChurchofEnglandpensionfund.Icautioned
mining companies to Sierra Leone, of
exports alone. When Ebola struck,
by himthatethicsandpollutioncontrolmayfallonstony it devastated mining; workers died; which four are operational. In 2019,
mining in Sierra Leone increased
Photo groundinAfrica’sminingindustry;hehadfaith. exports were paralyzed and those its exports to $350 million and
who survived fled the country taking
“Miningisimportantforeveryoneontheplanet,45%
ofthewholeeconomyoftheworlddependsonmaterial their mining skills with them. employed 7,000 people.
“We want to create the right
Nearly five years on, the dapper,
thatisdugoutoftheground…Youhavementioned young, director general of the mining business environment,” says Mattai.
pollutionandofcoursetheChurchofEngland’s ministry of Sierra Leone is helping to Sierra Leone suffers, like many
TransitionPathwaysInitiative,whichhasputanumber bring the industry back to life. African mining nations, from a
Julius Mattai’s eyes light up when
ofmeasurementstogetherwherebyinvestorscan he talks about the prospects for his dearth of skills and power, but at
the very least it is trying to open the
lookatanorganization,itcouldbeamine,itcouldbe country’s mining industry on his door to investors in the hope of a
somethingelse,andmeasureitagainsttheParisClimate mission to find foreign investors at rapid revival and all the wealth and
Changebenchmarks in terms of carbon emissions,” he the Mining Indaba in Cape Town in employment it brings. Other African
says. Heavens! February. mining nations could learn from this.
FORBESAFRICA.COM MARCH 2020 FORBES AFRICA | 23
