JOHANNESBURG- The need to secure new sources of metals for the energy transition amid sanctions on top producer Russia has increased the Africa risk appetite for major miners, who have few alternatives to the resource-rich continent.
Companies and investors are considering projects they may have previously overlooked, while governments are also looking to Africa, anxious to ensure their countries can procure enough metals to feed an accelerating net-zero push.
This year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba conference, which runs May 9-12 in Cape Town, will see the highest-ranking US government official in years attending, organizers say, as well as representatives from the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals Corporation (JOGMEC), in a sign of rich countries’ rising concern about securing supply.
“The reality is that the resources the world wants are typically located in difficult places,” said Steven Fox, executive chairman of New York-based political risk consultancy Veracity Worldwide.
The US administration wants to position itself as a strong supporter of battery metals projects in sub-Saharan Africa, he said.
