Energy Capital & Power (ECP) officially launched the African Critical Minerals conference and exhibition in Johannesburg on in April 2023.
Attended by high-level mining and energy delegations from both the private and public sector – including Botlhale Seageng, Director of Investment Promotion at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE); Willem Meintjies, Acting Executive Manager, Integrated Geoscience Development at the Council for Geoscience; and Allan Edwards, Chef de Bureau at the High Commission of Canada – the launch of the summit provided a preview of the upcoming African Critical Minerals Summit, scheduled for 6-7 November 2023 at the Sandton Conference Centre.
Hosted by the DMRE and organised by ECP, the African Critical Minerals Summit taking place in November will unite African mining and energy policymakers, companies and investors with global counterparts to showcase investment opportunities within South Africa and Africa’s burgeoning critical minerals industry.
In his opening remarks, James Chester, Senior Director at ECP stated “We are proud to hold Africa’s first critical minerals event this November. Africa’s resources are vital to the world’s future clean growth and what we do with these resources will define the future prospects of mining companies and economies in SADC and across Africa.”
Role of African Critical Minerals Summit
Seageng explored the investment landscape within South Africa’s mining sector and the role the African Critical Minerals Summit can play in optimising the industry.“The summit will help us define our resources and how to exploit them. Defining what critical minerals are will be essential for Africa to implement a clear roadmap on how to maximise the exploitation and monetisation of these resources for value addition into economies,” he said.
Expanding on the role improved research and development of the industry plays in driving market growth, Meintjies, noted that the optimisation of South Africa’s critical minerals sector starts with geology.
“We have a lot of data and information around South Africa’s critical minerals reserves with our 120 years of operations. As a country, we are still defining, in the context of the energy transition, what our critical minerals are,” he noted, adding that there is a huge demand for battery energy storage across the world.
“We are conducting a lot of research to identify the critical role we can play to help meet the growing demand.”
Speaking about the need for improved cooperation among global economies and stakeholders, Edwards showcased Canada’s openness to partner with South Africa and Africa as a whole in maximising the exploration and exploitation of critical minerals to shape the global transition.
“The launch of the summit is key for South Africa and Africa to partner with the world. Canada identified 31 key critical minerals which we will work with the world to monetise and exploit. We hope South Africa can follow that lead. It is very critical that South Africa and Canada, as superpowers in mining of critical minerals, cooperate and with global parties,” he said.
