Cape Town hosts Africa’s largest mining summit
CAPE TOWN

Africa’s largest mining investment summit kicked off in South Africa’s city of Cape Town on Feb. 3 to discuss the future of mining and investment opportunities on the continent.
The four-day summit, themed “Future-proofing African Mining, today!” has attracted dozens of ministers from around the world, mining experts, and investors among other professionals.
South Africa’s Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, who represented President Cyril Ramaphosa, urged African countries to take advantage of the vast mineral wealth they have so as to develop amid the booming demand for industrially valuable minerals.
Mantashe said despite Africa having the world’s largest mineral reserves it remains poor.
“Africa is the world’s richest mining jurisdiction, possessing at least 90 percent of the world’s chromium and platinum, 40 percent of the world’s gold, and the largest reserves of the world’s cobalt, vanadium, manganese and uranium,” he said.
Mantashe also said Africans must have a share in their country’s mineral resources to avoid having a mineral-rich country with poor citizens.
“We are inviting you to come and invest in South Africa, please make your money and if you make money you will employ our people and meet all obligations we set up for you,” he said.
Reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to cut all funding to South Africa after Ramaphosa last month signed the Expropriation Bill into law where state entities can expropriate land in the public interest for various purposes, Mantashe said: “Let’s mobilize Africa, let’s withhold minerals to U.S. If they don’t give us money, let’s not give them minerals.”
He said in reality, the U.S. takes Africa’s minerals but says it is withdrawing funding.
Trump threatened that he was cutting future funding to South Africa over alleged land confiscation and mistreatment of "certain classes of people."