De Beers and its parent Anglo American are set to play a central role in the Mining Indaba 2017, which opens in Cape Town on Monday.
De Beers and its parent Anglo American are set to play a central role in the Mining Indaba 2017, which opens in Cape Town on Monday.
It is the world’s largest gathering of the most influential stakeholders in African mining. More than 6,000 delegates are expected to attend, including high-profile government ministers, officials and industry leaders.
The theme of the four-day conference, part sponsored by Anglo American, is how to invest in African mining to make long-term profits and ignite the next wave of growth.
Mark Cutifani, Chairman of De Beers and Chief Executive of Anglo American, will deliver a series of speeches and presentations. Other leading figures from De Beers on the stage at the conference, or at the fifth annual Ministerial Symposium the day before, include Barend Petersen, Chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines, and Innocent Mabusela, Head of Corporate Affairs for De Beers Consolidated Mines.
The conference features a series of panel discussions. One on Tuesday, organised by the World Bank on mining and climate change, involves Deirdré Lingenfelder, De Beers’ Head of Safety and Sustainability.
She said: “It is increasingly evident that climate change will have a material impact on the mining and metals industry. It will play a role in shaping the industry’s future investments. Companies and governments will have to take both the risks and opportunities climate change offers the sector into account in their long-term planning.
“The session will debate, for example, the contribution the industry would be expected to make in supplying the clean technologies necessary for the goal of a ‘net zero carbon’ future, how we can develop a ‘climate smart’ approach to mining, and how we must work in partnership.”
One area Deirdré will raise is the company’s project on carbon capture, known as Project Minera. Another is the issue of water scarcity in De Beers’ southern African operations.
The Mining Indaba (full name: Investing in African Mining Indaba) is the largest mining investment conference in the world and Africa's biggest mining event. It has served as the pathway for foreign investment into the continent’s mining industry for two decades.
The focus of the Mining Indaba Ministerial Symposium is on stemming illicit financial flows out of mining territories and on how Africa’s mining sector can provide a sustainable platform for social and economic betterment long into the future.
To demonstrate Anglo American’s commitment to mining partnerships, the company will have an exhibition stand displaying interactive touchscreens.