Indaba to cast critical eye over issues, trends
Annual event brings together movers and shakers in SA’s mining industry to discuss how sector can attract further investment, writes ANDREW GILLINGHAM
THIS year’s annual Joburg Indaba will be hosted at the Inanda Club in Johannesburg on October 5 and 6 and the event will kick off with a gala pre-conference dinner at which Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye Gold, will be the guest speaker.
Paula Munsie, founder and CEO of Resources 4 Africa, says while the conference will also tackle some of the issues and trends developing across the African continent, its primary focus will be on the South African mining industry.
“There is so much taking place in the local mining industry and this has created a need for constructive problem solving and a cross-industry, multidisciplinary dialogue,” Munsie says.
“The industry is grappling with challenges ranging from low commodity prices to relationships with the communities in which operations are sited. As the event is based in Johannesburg it invariably attracts the South African mining industry. At the same time, the service industry and the finance community are very interested in opportunities in SA and elsewhere on the continent.”
The Indaba provides a look at the mining industry globally and considers the South African mining sector’s positioning as a world player, taking into account the industry’s current stage in relation to the commodity cycle. One of the strong themes running through the conference is the level of investment taking place in the industry.
“This is always an industry issue. Mining houses are looking for investment and there are developments that investors want to see happening in the industry,” Munsie says.
“For example, investors are interested in seeing the ways mining houses deal with community-based issues and strike action as well as the manner in which mines are managing their costs and the way the mining houses are allocating capital.
“Some investors have been concerned about the expenditure on large projects with little benefit going to shareholders in the form of dividends. Those subjects are very much top of mind in the industry and for investors.”
A key focus this year is to determine which issues are within the mining companies’ control and the best ways to address them effectively.
“The mining industry has not attracted a lot of investment recently, particularly when it is compared to other industries. While investors have not necessarily seen the mining sector as being particularly attractive, there are always shining examples of companies that have succeeded in delivering outperformance.
“Instead of sitting around taking a ‘woe is me’ approach, the Indaba is focused on providing a platform for the industry to take effective action and examining what companies can do to make their organisations more attractive to the investment community,” Munsie says.
The Indaba will play host to a variety of industry and industry-related movers and shakers and the number of delegates is limited to 500. Speakers have been selected on the basis of their ability to deliver real value to delegates — people who can deliver content of substance and potentially provide information that will influence decision making in the years ahead.
In the keynote addresses opening the conference, the ANC will be discussing what the government should be doing to make mining a key driver of the economy, and in the second keynote address Sipho Pityana, chairman of AngloGold Ashanti, will take the other side of the coin and consider what the industry should be doing to take charge of its future.