Next year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba will focus on the ways Africa can enhance the opportunity to increase the supply of green metals to meet global energy demands, while creating meaningful value for communities.

Taking place from February 6 to 9 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the event’s Green Metals Day – running over two mornings – will cover the impact of the twenty-seventh Conference of Parties’ outcomes on green metal demand and supply; battery metals and carbon neutrality; green metals outlooks; Africa’s hydrogen potential; and ways to build domestic manufacturing industries as part of mineral value addition.

Africa – home to 30% of the world’s mineral deposits, including the critical minerals needed in green technologies and renewable energy – has the deposits critical to tackling the global climate emergency.

As such, the continent is positioning itself to benefit from the green energy transition, say the organisers of the Investing in African Mining Indaba.

Investing in African Mining Indaba portfolio director Simon Ford says the Indaba provides the perfect platform to explore the balance between opportunity and value creation, particularly in the African context where the social licence to operate is as fundamental to success as the commodity being produced.

A ‘Minerals for Climate Action’ report, released by the World Bank in mid-2022, estimates that demand for green metals could increase five-fold by 2050 to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies. This significant boost in demand for minerals and metals will mean that mineral-rich developing countries, like those in Africa, can drive a net-zero future.

“Attracting a share of the investment to low- and middle-income countries could contribute to economic growth, jobs and local development,” the bank stated.

With the theme of ‘Unlocking African Mining Investment: Stability, Security, and Supply’, the Indaba will explore Africa’s mining opportunities to tap into the global rush for the raw materials needed to ensure a cleaner future, while at the same time considering responsible sourcing and sustained, ethical supplies of these critical minerals, says Ford.

This view is supported by the International Council of Metals and Mining (ICMM) – a foundational partner to the Indaba. ICMM president and CEO Rohitesh Dhawan says critical minerals are the backbone of the energy transition, but how they are sourced and produced is just as important as how much they are required.

Supporting the Paris Peace Forum’s call for responsible sourcing and production of critical minerals, the ICMM warned that the world is “walking on a tightrope” between an exponential increase in demand for these minerals, rising geopolitical tensions and urgent action on global issues such as climate change.