Rising commodity prices, particularly gold and copper, bring a more stable environment for producers and explorers globally. MACIG 2018 will recognise this year’s top ten destinations for mining investment and provide updates from new and existing projects as market sentiment improves. Exploration is on the return, with drill programs in the second half of the year hopefully bringing fruitful results in time for our September Pre-release, particularly in Francophone Africa.

In our 2017 African Mining Industry Survey, political stability and security were identified as the top factors to consider when entering a country in Africa. Potential changes in governance are never easy for decision-makers, and planned elections in top mining African destinations this year, including the DRC, Kenya and Angola, are bound to bring tension but also opportunities for the industry. We aim to analyse the balance between national interests and those of international investors by interviewing select stakeholders from across the board including government, producers, explorers, service and equipment providers, as well as executives from the finance community. In addition, we will invite all readers to participate in our 2018 African Mining Industry Survey and look forward to hearing your opinions.

The mining space in Africa is so dynamic, with risk factors and investment opportunities changing in each destination year on year that business intelligence remains a key tool for decision-makers to keep ahead of the game. Global Business Reports’ teams have returned to the continent this year to bring our readers the latest developments unique to each country and region in our MACIG 2018 publication launching next February as the annual official publication at the African Mining Indaba.

We will be looking into East Africa again, where the renewed appetite for exploration is being stifled to some extent by protectionism and legislative uncertainties as developing nations attempt to find a balance between attracting investment to their resources industries while ensuring maximum benefits for the indigenous economies. We also look into Ethiopia for the first time where we speak to the minister responsible for mining about his efforts to increase investments.

West Africa remains a pole of attraction, largely focused on gold, for explorers, which will ensure healthy growth for the industry providing infrastructural improvements can keep up. Ivory Coast is particularly attractive despite an episode of military unrest which failed to unsettle confidence in the country’s governance.

Governance remains a problem in some of the more mature mining jurisdictions that make up Southern Africa, particularly in South Africa, but here the industry is well established and has spent the last few years improving efficiencies so that mines are benefitting from improving commodity prices and seeing a more positive future.