3 February 2014
Investors should broaden their perspective, look beyond the obvious and prepare for African mining to rebound on the back of growing demand from recovering global economies, delegates heard at a private forum ahead of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town on the weekend.
The inaugural Mining Indaba Investment Discovery Forum took place at the Westin Hotel in Cape Town on Saturday, bringing together serious investors, important stakeholders and mining executives to discuss the numerous viable opportunities in African mining.
“As the platinum sponsor of this inaugural Investment Discovery Forum, we were excited at the opportunity to participate in this critical event to drive awareness of emerging opportunities on the continent,” Mark Tyler, senior investment banker at Nedbank Capital, said in a statement on Sunday. “The engagement from investors and mining corporates in this exclusive environment was very positive.”
Delegates were exposed to a balanced position on the challenges and opportunities in African mining, with speakers providing a holistic view on what has happened and what to expect in the next 12 months.
Andrew Monk, chief executive of VSA Capital Group in London, said that 2012 and 2013 “were horrible years; there was no investment. [But] there is definitely money coming into the mining sector at this stage”.
Angelos Damaskos, chief executive of Sector Investment Managers, was upbeat about the continent: “We believe African mining and resources are protected from some risks. There is low delivery risk because the host country is so dependent on the proceeds of delivery. To that extent we think that Africa is very attractive investment territory.”
At the same time, Damaskos noted: “[T]he culture of controlling a licence and pumping it has stopped. Now the emphasis is on benefiting the local economy as well.”
The 20th annual Investing in African Mining Indaba, the world’s largest gathering of influential stakeholders and decision makers in African mining, gets under way at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Monday.
During the four-day Indaba, the Departments of Mineral Resources, Trade and Industry, Science and Technology and Brand South Africa will host an exhibition under the “South African Pavilion” banner.
They will also host an investment promotion workshop to give expression to the theme of this year’s Indaba: “Investment opportunities in South African mining – from exploration to value addition”.
SAinfo reporter and Investing in African Mining Indaba
