Future-Proofing African Mining: Indigenous People and Mining Communities at the Heart of Mining Indaba 2025

JOHANNESBURG, 12 November, 2024 – Mining Indaba - the premier platform for deal-making, investment, and corporate networking for African mining for over 30 years – has announced a 2025 agenda that emphasises the voices of indigenous people and communities in the mainstream of the conference.

The new focus for next year’s event – Investing In Mining Indaba 2025 – reinforces the Mining Indaba commitment to future-proofing African communities, by foregrounding the experiences of those directly affected by mining.

“The meaningful integration and collaboration with mining communities and indigenous people are essential to shaping the future of mining,” says Laura Nicholson, Head of Content & Strategic Partnerships for Mining Indaba. “Those living closest to mining projects are vitally important stakeholders, and essential partners in building a sustainable, equitable mining industry.?. This year, for the first time at Mining Indaba, we will see representatives of mining communities and indigenous groups taking part in key sessions right across the four-day event, providing their own perspectives on main event themes.” ?

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While the interests of mining communities and indigenous groups intersect, the two groups do have distinct characteristics. Indigenous people have historical and ancestral connections to the land they live on. They have an inherent, pre-existing tie to the land. Mining communities are formed as a result of the mining activity, and are made up of people who work and live on and around the mine, this could include migrant labourers and people who move to the area to find opportunities around the mine.?

As an industry-leading event, Mining Indaba 2025 will build meaningful community engagement between organisers, strategic stakeholders and mining community representatives, facilitating constructive dialogue and problem-solving around community-related issues.

“We look forward to direct engagement through Mining Indaba sessions and networking opportunities between mining communities, indigenous peoples, industry and government,” says Nicholson.

To build momentum ahead of the event, Mining Indaba 2025 is running a video competition in partnership with The Impact Facility, social enterprise actively supporting artisanal mining communities in the East African gold sector and Congolese Copper-Cobalt belt. “Together we are inviting mining community members, representatives of indigenous peoples in mining areas, civil society organisations, activists and visionaries to share their perspectives on building an equitable, inclusive and responsible mining sector that can transform mineral wealth into lasting, multi-generational prosperity,” says David Sturmes-Verbeek, co-founder and director of partnerships and innovation at The Impact Facility.

“We are inviting video submissions from mining community representatives and indigenous people, outlining what it means to them to future-proof mining operations where they live,” Sturmes-Verbeek continues. “The competition is a tangible example of Mining Indaba’s commitment to inclusion, and will help stakeholders understand what needs to change to ensure mining communities thrive and co-exist with local mining operations.”

Videos entered in the competition will be featured at the Cape Town event, and the creators of the most compelling submissions will be offered?free access to Mining Indaba. The producers of the best videos will also be considered for speaking engagements at the event.?

The theme for the video competition is “What does Futureproofing African Mining mean for your community?” More information can be found here.

“We’re excited to be integrating indigenous people and mining communities directly into the main programme of Mining Indaba 2025,” says Nicholson. “As major stakeholders, they have a massive role to play in shaping the mining ecosystem, its infrastructure and its relationships, They’re also key to future-proofing the sector as a whole.”

? Investing in African Mining Indaba 2025 runs from 3 – 6 February 2025, at the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC 1 & 2). The event remains the most comprehensive platform for mining investment, finance, and innovation in Africa.

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