The European Magazine

Multiplying the Impact: What It Will Take to Grow Mining Investment in Africa

The widespread downward trend in commodity prices is threatening the already shaky dynamics of Africa’s mining industry.

By Alan Bird and Tiaan Moolman

First published on Μαΐου 07, 2015
min read


This article originally appeared in The European. The widespread downward trend in commodity prices is threatening the already shaky dynamics of Africa’s mining industry — an industry that, with the right governance, has the potential to improve the lives of many of the continent’s residents. Currently, the industry is prone to adversarial economics, and the focus has been on who can take the biggest slice of the pie. Investors seek to maximise returns by securing licences without incurring too onerous a set of environmental and community commitments; governments and communities seek to benefit through investments, taxes and royalties without due regard for the underlying profitability of the mine. In the worst cases, investment becomes tied up by these dynamics and ore bodies remain undeveloped. This is more than a theoretical risk; within the past two to three years many new mine projects have been cancelled and several established mines have ceased operation. Yet there is an alternate approach that allows all parties to benefit. *Read the full article in The European.*

This article originally appeared in The European.

The widespread downward trend in commodity prices is threatening the already shaky dynamics of Africa’s mining industry — an industry that, with the right governance, has the potential to improve the lives of many of the continent’s residents. Currently, the industry is prone to adversarial economics, and the focus has been on who can take the biggest slice of the pie. Investors seek to maximise returns by securing licences without incurring too onerous a set of environmental and community commitments; governments and communities seek to benefit through investments, taxes and royalties without due regard for the underlying profitability of the mine. In the worst cases, investment becomes tied up by these dynamics and ore bodies remain undeveloped. This is more than a theoretical risk; within the past two to three years many new mine projects have been cancelled and several established mines have ceased operation.

Yet there is an alternate approach that allows all parties to benefit.

Read the full article in The European.