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AAMEG stands proud

n times of crisis, it is the ingenuity of or- team during that time and it really came larly those who had spent considerable
Iganisations like the Australia-Africa Min- to the fore that people who weren’t mem- time at underground operations, return-
erals & Energy Group (AAMEG) and its bers realised that you needed to be part ing to Perth and in some instances hav-
members that truly shine. of a group, you needed to be aware of ing to quarantine in hotels with closed
On the domestic front, the Chamber of what was going on, remembering that windows.
Minerals & Energy WA and Association we were all at home or office on laptops “We continue to work closely with the
of Mining and Exploration Companies and all those relationships over the years [WA] State Government and they are
(AMEC) in Australia has been widely ap- count,” AAMEG chief executive William very aware of our situation,” Witham said.
plauded for its efforts in guiding industry Witham said. “As many of you would know, it is
through the ins and outs of COVID-19 Witham said it was also particularly quite tricky getting out of Australia, but
restrictions; an exemplary feat replicated pleasing that the Australian mining con- we were quite supportive of getting our
by AAMEG in Africa. tingent in Africa banded together, with members to get people out of Australia
At the height of the pandemic the mas- “people looking after everyone’s interest; claiming it essential to leave became a
sive logistical challenge of moving peo- I find there’s no competition”. bit of a speciality of AAMEG. As far as I
ple in and out of Africa was successfully While industry collaboration has been know, pretty much everyone that wanted
navigated by AAMEG and its member- a highlight, AAMEG also continues to en- or had to get out of Australia for work pur-
ship, while sourcing COVID testing kits gage with both State and Federal Gov- poses did and have returned so we really
from around the world for delivery to sites ernments. thank the Federal Government for that.”
in Africa was also handled with aplomb. A big concern for AAMEG was the – Mark Andrews
“I’m proud of our members and our mental health of mining people, particu-

Minbos ready for food bowl kick-start

inbos Resources Ltd managing direc- security. At a social level, if we can provide
Mtor Lindsay Reed largely assuaged fertilisers which improve yields it means
corporate discussions during his presenta- families will be able to farm more on less
tion to Africa Down Under, choosing instead land, using less hours. That will allow them
to focus on the likely benefits his company’s more time and resource available for their
phosphate project would bring Angola, and own families and own communities.”
the wider African continent. Reed said in addition to providing vital
It is indicative of the changing mood of phosphate fertiliser for plant growth, Minbos
international investors that even one of the was working on ways of including micronu-
most junior companies on the Africa Down trients – including iron, iodine, selenium,
Under programme would focus on its ESG zinc, vitamin A – in the fertiliser product.
merits instead of its technical ones. As well as the social, health and environ-
Promoting a project’s social credentials mental advantages, Minbos believes Cab-
has become, for many investors, as impor- inda’s resources could help launch new lo-
tant as the economic projections of mining cal economic opportunities.
projects, particularly in Africa. On both ac- “It is a small project, but the big opportu-
counts, Minbos can provide attractive dy- nity is providing the kick-starting nutrient for
namics. farming; phosphate,” he said.
The company is in the middle of an updat- “Phosphate is only 5% of inputs into a
ed DFS for its 13Mt @ 26% P2O5 Cabinda Lindsay Reed typical farming situation. So, we will pro-
phosphate project in Angola. The company land, rainfall and people, it is still a net im- duce $US1.5 billion of inputs over 30 years.
is confident it can replicate the outcomes porter of food,” Reed said. “The key missing That means someone else has to provide
of a 2019 scoping study which identified a ingredient to unlock the potential is fertiliser. $US30 billion of other inputs, whether that
project capable of producing 150,000 tpa of Sub Saharan Africa utilises a fraction of the is transportation, other nutrients, land, in-
P2O5, fetching $US222-290/t for a capex fertiliser the rest of the world does, and Mid- surance, etc. There’s going to be a myriad
of $US22.4-27.9 million. dle Africa only a fraction of that. There is no of opportunities around the agriculture that
The study is expected to be completed in primary fertiliser manufacturing in Middle develops on the back of this project.
the March quarter next year with construc- Africa, it is all imported.” “If you look at the downstream I can’t
tion – if a positive final investment decision Reed’s argument is a simple one, fertilis- even calculate how it’s going to change the
is reached – to begin in mid-2021. ers will improve the condition of soil, allow- region.
Reed said Minbos’ investment in a ing for higher yields and the opportunity to “There are two markets; people who
150,000 tpa fertiliser project on Angolan alleviate much of the hunger seen in Sub- grow to eat and people who grow to sell and
had the potential to open new opportunities Saharan Africa today. if we grow those markets together that will
for the country and its neighbours. “If we can improve it at a regional level be a huge advantage for this country and
“Middle Africa has a population of 170 we will go a long way to improving food se- this region.”
million and agriculture is the dominant em- curity and the problems which go with food – Dominic Piper
ployer but despite all the advantages of

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT DeCeMBeR 2020 - JaNUaRY 2021 Page 73