"Africa's time has come," was the message that diversified mining giant Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll left her audience at the Mining Indaba conference with, saying that the continent's mining industry had a decade of possibilities to look forward to, thanks mainly to commodity hungry China and India.
While she conceded that there would be "troughs and peaks" in commodities cycles, demand would underpin growth, as millions of people entered the middle class.
"Never before in history have so many people been lifted out of poverty," Carroll told delegates in Cape Town. In China and India alone, 600-million people were expected to converge on urban centers from 2000 to 2020.
This would demand a broad consensus between all stakeholders to build infrastructure and bolster economic stability.
And while demand for commodities was strong for the foreseeable future, mining companies needed to focus on exploiting resources responsibly.
"The mining sector will and must play a more important role in alleviating poverty," Carroll stressed.
While mining companies were not development agencies, they were important development actors, she said.
"We, as a group, are having to change the way that we do things," stated Carroll. "We have often had to learn the hard way."
However, the mining industry's relationship with Africa had to be a symbiotic one, with both parties benefiting.
"We all have investment options, and we choose carefully," she cautioned.
The factors that Anglo American considered in making investment decisions in countries include energy stability and pricing, water availability, well-maintained infrastructure, a stable and skilled workforce, communities, and governments encouraging and rewarding investment.
"At the same time, this is a partnership, and we too have responsibilities to contribute to countries and the people," Carroll stated.
EXPLORATION SPEND
She went on to say that Anglo American was sanguine on its African future, and had opened two offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It had also boosted its exploration spend from the R255-million in 2006 to R485-million planned for 2008.
"There is evidence of a more positive outlook" for the continent, Carroll stated.
AFRICA UNPARALLELED
"We see Africa as an unparalleled land for mineral extraction," Carroll said. While the continent only accounted for about one-fifth of the earth's land mass, it boasted an immense mineral wealth.
This included some 88% of platinum resources, 30% of bauxite resources, 40% of gold resources, and nearly two-thirds of the world's manganese and cobalt resources.
Then, there were also significant amounts of unexploited oil and gas fields off the continent's coast, she stated.
Anglo American had some 110 000 employees in Africa
AI
