The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains one of Africa’s most exciting mining project destinations, with ongoing interest in its vast array of minerals and metals.According to Duncan Bonnett of Africa House, there has been an uptick in interest in recent years, especially in the mining sector at large.“We are seeing a lot of energy in the mining industry – particularly around the DRC’s energy minerals – with the likes of graphite, cobalt, copper and lithium attracting much of the attention. The prices are very strong and there is a sense of confidence in the government and the mining environment,” he told Freight News. “Projects in the mining sector are dependent on the regulatory environment and how business-friendly the operating environment is. In places like the DRC, Zambia and Botswana, which hold a range of commodities, interest is growing as these countries work on creating better regulatory environments. We are also seeing concerted efforts to improve the operating environments for businesses.”He said in West Africa this was also evident, especially with regard to big projects involving commodities such as iron ore. “The mining projects tend to be integrated with rail and port projects, and there is a definite interest at present. Many of these projects have been on hold over the past few years, not only due to Covid-19, but also other factors that have played a role. We are now seeing several of these parked projects being looked at again, and they are gaining interest.”Bonnett has a bullish outlook for the mining project sector in 2022. “We have had a fair amount of disruptions to new and existing projects over the past few years, and 2022 is looking like it will be a good year for mining. Projects are taking off again. The sector is gaining traction.”Gold a good news storyHe said gold remained an African stronghold, and was very much a part of the good news story. “Exploration and mining of gold continue across Africa, with most of the traditional sources on track for a good year.”These include the likes of South Africa, Mali, Ghana and Tanzania. Over the past few years, however, Bonnett said there had been a rush for gold, and several other countries were actively exploring or already mining the commodity. “Places like Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Mauritania have all stepped into the gold space. Niger and Nigeria are also starting to look seriously at gold as part of their commodity portfolio.”According to Bonnett, while security will always play a role in the African project sector, especially in sectors such as mining where commodities have high values, countries are increasingly understanding the value of mining and the importance of it. “There is still a fair sense of insecurity in some regions. From time to time, we still see an incident where there are attacks on convoys as equipment or the commodity itself is targeted. The security is not 100% settled around the continent, but we are getting the sense that in areas where there is a strong cluster of mining, the security is better.”Countries increasingly getting it rightHe said ultimately more and more countries were getting it right – creating a regulatory environment for investment in the mining sector to grow, along with improved safety and security. “It is also not just around creating more transparent environments that we are seeing improvement, but rather an overall improved relationship between governments and mining houses.”He said in southern Africa, four countries in particular were seeing major improvements following a change of regime. “Angola, the DRC, Zambia and Tanzania have all become far more business-friendly. In Angola, we are starting to see real reforms and improvements, with an urgency from the government side to attract good-quality mining companies to its shores.”He said another country that was working hard to attract more mining houses was Nigeria.“The government is determined to expand in the non-oil mineral sector and to diversify its economy,” said Bonnett. “This change is not going to happen overnight as it does not have the necessary infrastructure as yet, but they are investing heavily to see the solid mineral sector contribute up to 5% of GDP.”We are getting the sense that in areas where there is a strong cluster of mining, the security is better.– Duncan Bonnett“
