In just one week, the highly anticipated Critical Minerals Africa (CMA) Summit will return to Cape Town for its second edition. The 2024 summit, held under the theme “Innovate. Enact. Invest in African Critical Minerals to Sustain Global Growth,” promises to bring together key players in the critical minerals industry from across Africa and around the world. This year’s summit is shaping up to be a pivotal event, with a comprehensive agenda and a diverse array of high-level speakers aimed at fostering essential partnerships in the critical minerals sector.
A robust group of partners and sponsors back CMA 2024, each playing a significant role in advancing Africa’s critical minerals markets. This list includes Roken Mining, the African Energy Chamber, MOORE, MetSoP, AZ ARMATUREN, Rystad Energy, Project Blue, the Critical Minerals Africa Group, UK_AO Connect, as well as the Zambia Chamber of Mines, the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa, Frost & Sullivan, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Southern African–German Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Mines of Mozambique, the SA-DRC Chamber of Commerce, and the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines.
On November 6-7, CMA 2024 will highlight Africa’s critical minerals potential as a top destination for investment. Held alongside African Energy Week: Invest in African Energy 2024 (scheduled for November 4-8), the event will provide delegates with extensive networking and learning opportunities, exposing them to a broad spectrum of leaders in energy, mining, and finance industries gathered in Cape Town. For additional details, including sponsorships and exhibiting opportunities, interested parties are encouraged to reach out to sales@energycapitalpower.com.
Central to the summit’s agenda is a Ministerial Forum, which convenes top African policymakers to discuss investment-focused policies. Notable participants include Hon. Monica Chang’anamuno, Malawi’s Minister of Mining; Hon. Polite Kambamura, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development; HRH Prince Lonkhokhela, Eswatini’s Minister of Natural Resources and Energy; and Hon. Louis Kabamba Watum, Minister of Industry and Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the DRC. Through policy dialogues, these leaders aim to attract foreign investment and help African nations leverage their 30% share of global critical mineral resources to bolster economic growth, develop infrastructure, and create jobs.
The summit will also feature a Country Spotlight Session with presentations focused on the continent’s most promising critical mineral opportunities. This session will highlight the top prospects in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, and Namibia, with in-depth looks at key minerals such as copper, cobalt, and lithium. Presentations will examine both current and upcoming projects that are helping drive growth in these markets and strengthening Africa’s role in global critical mineral supplies. The Leaders Forum will further expand on these discussions with contributions from international project developers and mining companies, including Glencore, Premier African Metals, Pensana, Isondo Precious Metals, Orion Minerals, and KoBold Metals, as they outline their strategies for local value creation and the role of African minerals in the energy transition.
In addition, the summit’s Investment Forum and other targeted panels will provide a stage for organisations like the World Bank, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, ABSA, Moshe Capital, and the U.S. Export-Import Bank to examine the diverse investment opportunities reshaping Africa’s critical minerals industry. With global demand for these minerals set to quadruple by 2030, primarily due to the rapid growth of clean energy technologies, Africa is uniquely positioned to play a central role in supplying critical minerals and establishing a diversified, sustainable global supply chain.
CMA 2024 stands as a premier platform for African critical minerals stakeholders to explore growth and partnership possibilities. With its mix of ministerial forums, spotlight sessions, and investment discussions, the summit is set to drive meaningful discussions and foster partnerships that can propel the African critical minerals sector forward to meet global demand.
Pensana plc (LON:PRE) explores and mines neodymium, praseodymium, and rare earth minerals. The Company’s flagship assets are the Saltend rare earth refinery project in the United Kingdom and Longonjo neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) Project in Angola.
