The Indaba, taking place February 9-12, long a fixture on the continent’s mining calendar, has evolved into a key platform for debate, deal‑making and innovation across the sector.
Speaking to Channel Africa on Tuesday, Abe Andries, Head of Mining at Business and Commercial Banking for Standard Bank SA, said the industry has undergone a major transformation in recent years, driven largely by global expectations around sustainability.
“Mining has evolved throughout the years,” Andries said. “The key driver that has really shaped mining to where it is today is the Environmental, Social, and Governance model. Sustainable mining is pushing the sector to move away from practices that harm the environment and communities.”
He noted that the shift toward sustainability has also redefined the importance of certain minerals. “We are refocusing on critical minerals. Minerals that were once mined but not seen as strategic. Today, they are central to the global energy transition. Mining remains a cornerstone of the global economy, and with critical and rare earth minerals, the future is still very bright.”
Africa hosts some of the world’s richest deposits of critical minerals used in clean‑energy technologies, from cobalt and copper to manganese and rare earths. But the continent continues to grapple with the long‑standing challenge of moving up the value chain rather than exporting raw materials.
Asked how Africa can shift from being a supplier of unprocessed minerals to a builder of competitive value‑added industries, Andries said the answer lies in tackling long‑standing structural barriers.
“There are key differentiators like electricity that really put mining in the background,” he said. “In South Africa, electricity is expensive. Across the continent, roads and infrastructure remain a challenge. These constraints force mining houses to focus on extraction and export rather than beneficiation.”
He argued that Africa’s infrastructure deficit has undermined deeper industrialisation. “Infrastructure has been neglected quite a bit. If there is anything within the mining value chain that can make the sector more sustainable, it’s ensuring that infrastructure is ready, roads, logistics, power. Political will is also key to aligning policy and enabling development across the value chain.”
–ChannelAfrica–
