Africa’s top mining conference focuses on financing challenges, effects of Trump tariffs on the industry

The four-day ‘Investing in African Mining Indaba’ that officially kicked off in Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday (3 January) features presentations from mining experts, delegates and influential policymakers and also includes discussions on the effects that US tariffs and the freeze on foreign aid might have on Africa’s mining industries.
The African mining-focused event has set the stage for important discussions on the future of mining across the continent, with key industry leaders pondering financing challenges, particularly the tightening access to financing for miners, and future strategies for mining’s growth and sustainability. The renowned mining conference with a theme ‘Future-Proofing African Mining, Today.’ has brought together who’s who of Africa’s mining scene, including Barrick Gold boss Mark Bristow, head of Rio Tinto’s minerals division Sinead Kaufman and Glencore DRC president Marie-Chantal Kaninda, to discuss the latest trends shaping the industry.
A key focus of many discussions are the plans of the new US president Donald Trump’s administration to impose tariffs and the freeze on foreign aid might and what effects these steps might have on Africa’s mining industries. Some participants have expressed concern that particularly Trump’s 10% tariff on Chinese goods announced Saturday (1 February) will make the goal of ‘future-proofing of African mining’ much harder. “Because China sources lots of its minerals from Africa that go into its manufacturing which then gets exported, there’s a potential negative knock-on effect on African mining, if the demand is not there as a result of the tariff,” according to Denys Denya, senior executive vice president of Afreximbank.