MineAfrica conferences are a big day on the calendars of mining executives the world over, a majority of whom only need take the subway to the Toronto leg of the conference, held in the financial mining capital of the world.
This year, PDAC saw a record 22,000 mining specialists, executives, investors and government officials come to see the 1,000 exhibitors in the trade show and Investors Exchange.

On the morning of March 9, TABJ attended the Canada-South Africa Chamber of Business 11th annual mining breakfast and MineAfrica’s annual Investing in African Mining Seminar. The breakfast have evolved into a reunion of sorts, a chance to regroup and network with colleagues and familiar faces from the industry and get a refresher on all the industry movement.

TABJ was fortunate to share a table and breakfast with representatives from the South Africa consulate general and afterwards listen to the mixture of presentations from African governments and mining companies active in Africa and experts in the financial, legal and engineering fields. It was a postprandial pleasure being introduced to the newly inaugurated South African Consul-General, fresh from her post as Consul-General in Munich.

Keynote speaker Simon Village, Chairman of Banro Corporation, gave a thoughtful presentation on the Democratic Republic of Congo and its potential to attract foreign capital. His position was that a priority on transparent and clearly defined laws as well as rule of law will increase the popularity of the country for investment, and compared the DRC with Tanzania and Ghana of years ago. His overall theme was that investors who have the foresight to invest in the country will reap the greatest benefits, something Banro has experienced firsthand.

This year saw the launch of MineAfrica’s new On the Ground Group, which will produce the Mining Exchange: Mining Financing Opportunities through the TSX Venture CPC Program with the TMX Group and its mineSouthAfrica series with its premiere sponsor, Macleod Dixon LLP.

In one of the three exhaustive presentation seminars, Avril Cole of Macleod Dixon spoke on her company’s ambitious reform to unlock opportunities for investment in the mining sector. No matter which side of the investment spectrum one falls, the MineAfrica conference is always an educational and informative event which broadens the Toronto mining industry horizon. Bruce Shapiro and Wayne Floreani, as always, put on a conference integral to the Canadian and Africa mining communities.

www.mineafrica.com

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