Business events organiser Hyve Group is expecting a significant number of attendees, specifically from Africa, Europe and “North America, to take part in the Mining Indaba Virtual Investment Programme meetings, says Hyve Group director of investor relations for Mining Indaba Kael O’Sullivan.

This is owing to the virtual nature of the programme, which will allow investors and financiers to connect directly with mining executives and project promotors virtually. The programme will be held from March 30 to 31.

“The Virtual Investment Programme will focus extensively on deal-making and investments by connecting capital holders with management teams and project promotors through targeted, customised virtual meetings over two days,” enthuses O’Sullivan.

He points out that the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented Hyve Group from hosting physical meetings among investors, financiers, mining executives and project promotors. However, it was still able to host the Mining Indaba, virtually, from February 1 to 4.

“While we were disappointed not to welcome everyone to Cape Town for the Mining Indaba, the virtual event emphasised the great importance that the Indaba holds for the African mining community, as it has always been a significant platform to connect global capital with mining interests in Africa.”

O’Sullivan explains that the virtual Mining Indaba provided access to the mining industry’s leaders and high-quality content, while the Virtual Investment Programme provides networking and capital-raising opportunities that “make the Mining Indaba the preeminent mining investment conference on the continent”.

The programme will present African mining and exploration companies with “high-quality meetings with a global audience of investors and financiers”, he adds.

One of the features of the Virtual Investment Programme is the Investment Battlefield, which will take place online in the lead-up to and during the investment programme.

The Investment Battlefield provides exposure for junior miners. O’Sullivan explains that it has “brought some of Africa’s most promising mining projects to the forefront of the Mining Indaba” over its four-year history, as juniors use the platform to pitch their projects to a panel of judges.

“The platform has provided a way of connecting with investors and financiers who might not have managed to get through the door previously. Likewise, for capital holders, the competition allows for the uncovering of new projects and ideas that may have not been on their radars.”

O’Sullivan adds that, given the success of the Investment Battlefield in previous years, Hyve Group wanted to continue the programme despite the pandemic.

The Investment Battlefield will take place weekly, beginning with precious metals exploration and development on March 9 and 11 respectively, followed by bulk and base metals on March 16 and 18, and concluding with battery and energy materials on March 23 and 25.

The semi-final and final will then be streamed exclusively to participants of the virtual investment programme.

O’Sullivan adds that, for the first time, the Investment Battlefield will also allow the event audience to vote on who they think should advance.

The programme will also include the hosting of two roundtable discussions led by renowned analysts from Investec and Nedbank CIB.

The Investec dialogue will focus on answering the question: “Are we on the brink of a new commodity ‘supercycle’?”, and will include senior executives from producers of copper, cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium to discuss the “green energy revolution’s role in stimulating growth in a post-pandemic world”.

CEOs of major and midtier gold producers, including diversified major Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman and gold miner AngloGold Ashanti interim CEO Christine Ramon, will join the Nedbank Roundtable discussion.

“While we look forward to hosting the physical Mining Indaba in Cape Town next year, we expect to continue the activities we’ve launched during the pandemic as a way of connecting the African mining community throughout the calendar,” he concludes.