Our insights from this year’s Mining Indaba, which put the spotlight on the challenges and opportunities facing the industry amid growing climate change pressures.
At this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba – which, for more than three decades, has brought together stakeholders from across the mining value chain – South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, underlined the vital role Africa has to play in contributing to the global energy transition.
In his opening address, he identified four key areas on which government, industry, labour and communities must focus to drive the industry’s growth and global competitiveness, while ensuring more sustainable development.
These included the need to achieve a secure supply of electricity; accelerate economic reform to improve the operating environment; tackle illegal mining and damage to infrastructure; and improve the regulatory environment.
As well as forging a brighter future for industry, he also highlighted that mining needs to be at the forefront of the continent’s growth, development and prosperity, saying: “Just as there can be no development without mining, mining must be at the forefront of social development”.
His sentiments were echoed by Anglo American Chief Executive, Duncan Wanblad, who, during his own keynote speech, spoke about the need to accelerate global efforts to decarbonise the world’s energy and transport systems, and the growing awareness of mining's crucial role in making that happen.
As part of this, he also called out the importance of product provenance and responsible mining, saying: “[…] the phrase ‘critical minerals’ has now completely entered the broader global lexicon, and we are very fortunate to be able to play a very meaningful role in the supply of those. There is an equally pressing point that comes with that, of course, which is that we do have the responsibility to ensure that we produce these products in such a way that they are as sustainable as possible – environmentally, socially and, of course, ethically.”
Anglo American participated in several forums across the four-day event. Group Director of Anglo American in South Africa, Nolitha Fakude, joined a panel hosted by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to speak about the importance of inclusion and diversity.
Kumba Iron Ore CEO, Mpumi Zikalala, took part in a conversation focused on the topic of ‘Energy Transition Metals & Minerals - How Can the African Mining Sector Ensure Security of Supply?’. She touched on several key points; from identifying the scale of the supply challenge and investment roadblocks in relation to critical energy transition metals and minerals, to Africa’s role in meeting global demand for these products.
Vijay Kumar, Kumba’s Chief Operating Officer joined a panel discussion about innovation in mining technology. Fahmida Smith, Principal Market Development, PGMs, spoke about powering the hydrogen economy and Anglo American’s hydrogen-powered haul truck – an important step in our commitment to achieve carbon-neutrality across our operations by 2040.
Meanwhile, Anik Michaud, Group Director of Corporate Relations and Sustainable Impact, joined a panel looking at ‘Risk appetite in the mining value chain – how is it changing?’. Participants in this session acknowledged that, while mining value chains are at the centre of the energy transition, key criteria need to be understood to determine where value can be created and what risks industry players are willing to take.
Bulks Commodities CEO, Themba Mkhwanazi, appeared on a panel on the third day of the event, exploring the topic of ‘The Energy Crisis and the Just Transition: how are countries and jurisdictions balancing these priorities in the COP27 context?’ The session highlighted the rapid deployment of clean energy technologies as part of the energy transition, the priorities for ensuring a just transition, and the increasing demand for minerals.
On the final day of the Indaba, it was time for the industry's future leaders to take centre stage as part of the Young Leaders in Mining forum – a collaboration between the event organiser and advisory firm, Brunswick, designed for the next generation of miners. University students and young professionals working in the industry met and engaged with senior leaders in mining, government and civil society, and took part in several key debates about the industry's future.
Anglo American representatives included Londeka Mahlanza-Langer, Sustainability Performance & Reporting Specialist, who joined a panel discussion on ‘Mining, life, leadership: The priorities for the next generation’, which sought to understand what the next generation of leaders wants and expects from their career in mining.
As a key participant in the Indaba, Anglo American’s efforts to ensure a lasting, positive contribution to the communities and regions in which we operate were also brought to life in our exhibition stand which was eye-catching and also represented a physical manifestation of our Purpose – to re-imagine mining to improve people’s lives – with the entire exhibition designed to be repurposed into a library and play therapy area, for donation to an education centre in Graaf-Reinet, post-event.
The event provided an important platform for discussion with like-minded peers about the scale of action and cultural shift required, as well as the opportunity to share with key stakeholders what Anglo American is working on to drive forward a new era of economic and sustainable development for Africa, and the mining industry more broadly.