“How good governance translates into better lives for people”

“What we have known for a long time is that countries and jurisdictions that are better governed, tend to generate better outcomes for their people, especially when it comes to the mining sector.” This is according Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and keynote speaker at the upcoming Africa Mining Forum from 2–4 November 2021.

This tailored mining investment platform for junior miners, mid-cap companies, and sustainable technology solutions providers, returns with a uniquely themed concept, with each of the ESG principles, Environment, Social, and Governance, providing the inspiration for separately focused, digital sessions and activities during three days.

Our objective
Africa Mining Forum hosts executives and decision-makers to engage directly with key stakeholders, investors, and asset managers through unique networking channels to identify promising projects and deploy capital in Africa’s mining. The event also provides extensive opportunities to industry technology and service providers to showcase and demonstrate their practical solutions.

The live, digital programme will include a daily commodities outlook, three exclusive keynote sessions, strategic spotlights, technology roundtables, and A-Z investment guides for burgeoning mining countries on the continent.

Awards Ceremony
Earlier this year, two of the African mining industry’s most innovative brands joined forces, when the Africa Mining Forum merged with Mining Review Africa’s Mining Elites in Africa publication with a Digital Awards Ceremony during which the 2022 edition winners of Mining Elites in Africa will be announced.

Getting governance right
The ICMM recently upped the ESG ante by publishing a series of enhanced Mining Principles which define good practice requirements for the mining and metals industry, aligned with its objective of the responsible sourcing and production of metals and minerals.

In an interview with Mining Review Africa, premium media partner for Africa Mining Forum, the ICMM CEO said: “Ultimately, governance is just a fancy word for management. When we look at the question of governance of natural resources and countries, we can ask, do countries have the right laws in place? And if they do, do they implement them consistently and effectively over time? We found from the research that the countries that have made the most progress over the last 25 years (this research looked 25 years back up until 2018), the countries that made the most progress have been the likes of Indonesia, Bolivia, Peru, and Botswana.”

According to Dhawan, the common theme amongst all of these countries was developing the right policies and then executing them consistently and effectively over time. “If one of those two is not right, typically, you don’t see the progress on social indicators, because what is what we were looking for, how good governance translates into better lives for people.”

Focus on Africa
According to Rohitesh Dhawan, the ICMM’s research had a special focus on Africa because they observed that since 1995, the number of countries that are resource-dependent, has increased by 60%. “When we look at the 88 countries that are resource-dependent today, they account for 30% of the world’s population. So, a very large part of the world lives in countries that are resource-dependent. And amongst those people, we have 450 million people that are living in poverty. So getting this right really matters. And getting this right really matters in an African context.”

More headline speakers will be joining Rohitesh Dhawan at Africa Mining Forum in November, including:

–  Jayne Mammatt, Partner and ESG Lead for Africa, PwC, South Africa
–  Harry Fisher, Senior Analyst l Battery Metals, CRU Group, Australia 
–  Marta Dec, Senior Analyst l Base Metals, CRU Group, UK
–  Terence Lyons, CEO, TSC, Singapore
–  Gerard Reid, CEO, Alexa Capital, UK
–  Kwasi Ampofo, Head of Metals and Mining, BloombergNEF, UK
–  David Bleiker, Vice President Mining Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Wood, Canada

Unique platform
Africa Mining Forum is hosted on the Mine.it Africa – Connect platform, a unique, all-in-one, interactive digital mining platform providing in one place, African mining news and opportunities, live, interactive events and engagement.

Over 3300 mining professionals from 78 countries are already using the platform and attending the digital events and webinars. It is also an ongoing source of industry news, print and video content, interviews and podcasts as well as live webinars and conferences.

Mining Review Africa is the leading monthly magazine and digital platform in the African mining industry. Every month, MRA reaches an audience of over 50 000 influential mining authorities and key decision makers through a variety of channels, including an interactive website, videos and print distribution at all major mining conferences in Africa and across the globe.

Register here for access to Mine.It Africa – Connect.

Event organiser Clarion Events Africa is a leading Cape Town-based and multi-award-winning organiser of exhibitions, conferences and digital events across the continent in the infrastructure, energy and mining sectors. Other well-known events by Clarion Events Africa include Enlit Africa, DRC Mining Week and Nigeria Mining Week.

Website: https://www.africaminingforum.com/

Africa Mining Forum event dates and location:
Dates: 2–4 November 2021
Location: Online

Media contact:
​Annemarie Roodbol
Email: annemarie.roodbol@clarionevents.com