The projects magazine in collaboration with Stanbic bank launched the future of mining summit 2024

Staff Writer | Wednesday May 1, 2024 16:45

The summit, which is organised in partnership with the Botswana Chamber of Mines (BCM) is endorsed and supported by the government of Botswana through the Ministry of Minerals and Energy. It will serve as a convergence point for mining industry leaders, high-level government officials, policy-makers, thought leaders in extractive industries, investors, and ESG stakeholders. The summit will feature strategic keynote presentations, technical insights, and panel discussions over the course of two days.

Hosted under the theme “Building Competitive Global Players in the Face of Evolving Industry Challenges,” the summit will feature prominent figures from Botswana’s mining sector, including Mmetla Masire (Managing Director of Okavango Diamond Company), Naseem Lahri (Managing Director of Lucara Botswana), Sedireng “Sed” Serumola (Managing Director of DTC Botswana), and Johan Ferreira (CEO of MNG Khoemacau Copper Mine), Edwin Elias (CEO of Morupule Coal Mine) all of whom have so far confirmed their participation.

Speaking at the launch of the summit, Rearabilwe Ramaphane, The Project Manager for The Future of Mining Summit, highlighted key focus areas for the summit, comprising Technology, Renewable Energy, Future Skills, Access to Finance, ESG, Parallel Industries in Mining Communities, and Public-Private Partnerships.

Ramaphane said the summit is committed to tangible outcomes beyond mere discussions, pledging to collaborate closely with BCM and the government to produce white papers on various critical areas, such as defining the future of Botswana's mining industry in relation to global market trends, addressing evolving industry challenges, resource mobilisation for exploration ventures, establishing a national framework for building parallel industries in mining communities, creating collaboration frameworks for funding renewable energy projects, defining opportunities in the mining value chain, exploring new financing models for major capital mining projects, identifying new skills required for the future of mining, and developing a national ESG policy for the mining industry.

Regarding the partnership with The Projects Magazine, Kushatha Chilisa, Head of the Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP) at Stanbic Bank, indicated that partnering with The Projects Magazine is part of Stanbic Banks’s commitment to ensuring mining companies are in support of citizen companies.

She said in the lead-up to the Summit, Stanbic Bank and The Projects Magazine will collaborate on a series of workshops and seminars with various mining houses. These initiatives aim to empower citizens to participate meaningfully in the mining industry.