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MODERN MINING
February 2017
EVENTS
T
his was probably not a record-
breaking Mining Indaba in terms
of attendance and the number of
exhibitors (official figures were
not yet available as this article
was being written) but the show was well
organised and the ‘quality’ of the delegates
seemed very high. While almost everyone that
Modern Mining
spoke to expressed broadly
positive sentiments about the state of the min-
ing industry in South Africa – and indeed
Africa – there was also an acceptance that the
levels of activity attained at the height of the
resources ‘super-cycle’ roughly a decade ago
were unlikely to be regained.
The positive mood was summed up by
Mineral Resources Minister
Mosebenzi Zwane
who noted that a new balance was emerging in
the demand and supply of mineral resources.
Better mood at Mining Indaba
The scene in the exhibition
hall at the Mining Indaba.
While it would perhaps be over-stating matters to say
that delegates at this year’s Mining Indaba, held from
6-9 February in Cape Town, were highly optimistic about
prospects for the mining industry, there was clearly a
much better mood in evidence than at the 2015 and 2016
events. As
Modern Mining’s
Arthur Tassell reports here,
the consensus seemed to be that commodity prices were
on an upward trend and that a recovery in mining activity
was gathering strength.