Between the 4th to the 6th of September, Bara Group Chairman Jim Pooley was in attendance at the African Down Under (ADU) conference in Perth Australia.
The conference focused on Australian interests on the African continent as it serves as a platform for:
- Australian listed companies with African based investments to promote their projects; and
- African countries to market themselves to the Australian junior mining sector as a desirable investment destination.
The conference was a mix of presentations from junior mining companies active in Africa (approximately 30 presentations) and African countries (approximately 11 presentation), plus a small exhibition floor where approximately 80 entities were on show. African countries in attendance this year included: South Africa, Madagascar, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Ghana, Namibia, Uganda, Cote de Ivoire, Kenya and Guinea. The conference provided a valuable insight into the current level of activity and state of the mining business on the African continent. Of particular interest to us at Bara (having an office located in Johannesburg) was the apparent feel-good factor around the South African mining sector subsequent to the recent national elections and the establishment of a Government of National Unity (GNU). Although it is early days for the GNU, the industry seems to approve of this development – now to deliver the goods!