The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Mines Botswana, Charles Siwawa is expected to make a key note address at the SADC Africa Mining Conference, which is taking place on 15 September. The event, which happen alongside Electra Mining Africa is expected to take place from 12-16 September at the Expo Centre in Johannesburg,
The conference is an inaugural SADC Mining event dedicated to showcase and explore the latest insight into sustainability, developing diversified economies and improving operational efficiency. The event has been hailed as the perfect platform for mining companies and their partners to increase resilience and succeed in a turbulent and volatile market.
Siwawa together with Isaac Kwesu, President of the Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe are expected to give a SADC mining overview focussing on establishing a sustainable road ahead in a changing landscape.
“Discussion points will include challenges and opportunities through to 2018, plans in place to attract foreign investment to the industry, strategies to ensure long-term sustainable growth and the importance of building relationships between the mining sector and local communities.” ,reads a statement from the organisers.
Michal Kotze, African Industry Leader at PWC Mining Centre of Excellence and Andries Rossouw, Senior Mining Assurance Partner at PWC Mining Centre of Excellence will be leading a presentation on ‘Leveraging the African Mining Vision ÔÇô Shaping a New Paradigm in a Fragile Economy’. Content will include an economic update; challenges facing the global mining industry; mineral development as a vehicle for economic diversification; and plans in place to attract foreign investment in the industry.
Deepa Vallabh, Director, Head: Cross Border Merger & Acquisitions Africa and Asia at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer Inc will be speaking on the ‘Investment in Mining in SADC: Opportunities or Challenge?’ Her presentation will cover negotiating buy-out, joint venture and M&A opportunities; restructuring opportunities; M&A considerations in foreign markets; and the balancing act between social and commercial considerations.
Presenting a talk on the topic of ‘The Value of Sustainability ÔÇô Making Informed Decisions?’, Deirdr├® Lingenfelder, Head of Safety and Sustainable Development at The De Beers Group of Companies, will address issues around the 21st century seeing new mineral resources in ever more sensitive locations coupled with growing opposition to mining activities, increasing demand, continuing social inequality, and greater completion for technical skills. These challenges are further compounded by the changing nature of society’s expectations of business.
Other topics include ‘Funding and Project Financing’ presented by Robert Futter, Director, Cresco Project Finance; ‘Transport Infrastructure Update’ presented by Barbara Mommen, CEO, Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI); and ‘The Mines of the Future: Where is the money going to come from?’ presented by Paul Miller, Head of Mining & Metals, Nedbank Capital. Jim Hutchins, PhD, Senior Applications Engineer at Vermeer and Paul van Helden, Applications Specialist at Vermeer EMEA (Netherlands) will be discussing ‘Innovation ÔÇô Technological Advances Revolutionising Precision Surface Mining’, and David Osborn, Managing Director at Geovia will be talking about ‘Adopting Manufacturing Philosophies to Improve Operational Stability’.
