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ADU PReVIeW

African diaspora offers third lane

at ADU

or nearly 20 years, Africa Down Under that was my first taste of real mining and I
Fhas proven a crucial bridge between Af- liked it,” he said.
rican countries seeking investment into their Having received a scholarship, Atta-
minerals sectors and Australian companies Danso was intent on completing his mas-
with the professional tools and financial ca- ters and joining academia but just as in
pacity to make it happen. Australia, the skills shortage means mining
Meetings at the conference have led to companies are desperate to snap up tal-
many successful partnerships across the ented individuals.
continent, with Australian companies send- “Gold Fields Ghana offered me a place
ing experts to Africa to pull of feats of explo- in their graduate programme and I decid-
ration, engineering, metallurgy and more. ed that before I could be a good lecturer,
However, within this transfer of skills, I needed to understand how the practical
knowledge and capital, there has been one and theory sides of the industry differed so
notable absence; African-born profession- I could add value to my students,” he said.
als and entrepreneurs who already have As is so often the case, day-to-day in-
Australian connections. While Australian volvement in operations proved too strong
companies operating in Africa have been an attraction and Atta-Danso committed
adept at lifting professional skills capacity himself to Gold Fields and a career in in-
in their host country, there is also another dustry rather than academia.
group of African professionals who devel- Having been promoted through the Mark Atta-Danso
oped their skills at home and are now ap- ranks in his home country, Atta-Danso
plying them to careers in Australia. took an opportunity to transfer his metal-
In 2022, this group are about to establish lurgical skills to Gold Fields’ St Ives opera- moving to roles with CITIC Pacific, Saracen
a major presence at Africa Down Under. tion in WA in 2008. Mineral Holdings and Fortescue Metals
Mark Atta-Danso is a process engineer Despite a few culture shocks – he didn’t Group Ltd.
with West Australian gold miner West- have any lunch on Day 1 at St Ives be- “I was asked by Gold Fields Ghana if I
gold Resources Ltd, having arrived in the cause Ghanaian operations feed staff wanted to return home, and one day I would
country from Ghana with Gold Fields Ltd onsite rather than packing lunch back at like to, but at the time I was doing my MBA
in 2008. He is also a member and chair of camp – Atta-Danso benefitted from the in mineral economics and so chose to stay
stakeholder engagement at African Min- intercontinental nature of Gold Fields’ ap- in Australia.”
ing Professionals Association of Australia proach. The combination of Ghanaian and Aus-
(AMPAA), a not-for-profit group eager to “In terms of safety, environmental im- tralian experience sets Atta-Danso and the
provide a strong networking platform for Af- pact, etc., Gold Fields did everything the other 90 members of AMPAA apart from
rican mining and minerals industry profes- same across the board, whether you are at colleagues on both continents. It could one
sionals in Australia. St Ives, Damang or Tarkwa so it was easy day benefit host communities and compa-
This year, for the first time, AMPAA will to adapt,” he said. nies back in Africa.
have a visible presence at Africa Down Un- It is an approach in keeping with Atta- “As a member of AMPAA, I am proud to
der, forging another link between industries Danso’s own outlook. see a number of our members go back to
on the two continents. For Atta-Danso, the “Right from the start of university I Africa and apply their skills and experience
success of Africa Down Under is testament wanted to be a professional to interna- there,” he said. “Being in Australia, there is
to the close cultural alignment between tional standards so I could be at the same easy access to high-quality consultants and
mining sectors on both continents. level as peers everywhere in the world. It professional development programmes
Like many of his Australian-born counter- meant I could come to Australia and work through groups like AusIMM. There are a
parts, Atta-Danso found his way into mining and it will make it smoother when I work in lot of those programmes to enhance the
through a love of science. Ghana again, which is something I would development of younger professionals and
“In high school I was very much a sci- like to do.” I believe we can share those structures
ence student and wanted to be involved in For all the similarities, there are major dif- with Africa to harness the skills which are
chemistry,” he said. “Once I completed my ferences, including elements Atta-Danso already present in countries like Ghana.”
first semester, I knew I wanted to be a met- would like to see introduced into the Gha- It is not only skilled mining migrants who
allurgist and work in the industry.” naian mining sector. are having an impact on Australian-African
From there, Atta-Danso threw himself “At times the working systems are totally mining relations. The meetings and exhibi-
wholeheartedly into the mining game, dili- different,” he said. “The biggest thing here tion space at Africa Down Under is always
gently learning as well as attending any and is the flexible work hours. It means you can teaming with start-ups, unlisted companies
every field trip and participating in vacation spend more time with family, and it also and one-person groups eager to attract in-
programmes. gives you opportunity to study and build vestors to their portfolio of African projects.
“In my second year I did my first vacation your skills and knowledge. A constant presence in recent editions of
programme with Golden Star Resources, Atta-Danso left Gold Fields in 2012, the conference is Beltz Mining Ltd, an un-

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