The View from England: Nubian gateway opens

Africa has dominated news in the United Kingdom since a new variant of Covid-19 (now called Omicron) was identified in South Africa on November 25. Many African countries, particularly in the south, are now subject to international travel restrictions that are severely hampering business activity. This was graphically demonstrated at the recent Mines and Money conference in London when numerous speakers were on video links.

The continent’s setback in the fight against the coronavirus comes hard on the heels of disappointing data on mining finance. In its State of the Market report for the three months to the end of September, S&P Global Market Intelligence calculated that US$8.2 billion of capital had been raised for the mining sector. Some US$6.6 billion of this amount can be allocated to individual assets, and only 8% of that total was heading to the combined 54 countries of Africa. In contrast, S&P Global revealed that Australia alone accounted for 20% of the third-quarter total, with Canada receiving 10% and the United States 5%.

There was better news for northern Africa at the beginning of December, however, when the Government of Saudi Arabia confirmed the details of its Future Minerals Summit (FMS) on January 11-13, 2022. The Summit’s themes include a focus on the mineral prospectivity of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) and on mining opportunities in a region that has Riyadh at its hub (so also embraces Central Asia).

Nubia, in particular, has held huge historical appeal for miners. This area lies between the first cataract of the Nile (in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (Khartoum in central Sudan). Nubia was one of Africa’s earliest civilizations, and enjoyed prosperity from around 2500 BC until its conquest by Egypt’s Pharaoh Thutmose I in 1500 BC.

Geologically, ANS is an exposure of Precambrian rock on the flanks of the Red Sea that includes (from north to south) parts of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the east, and Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia to the west of the Red Sea. This region was the site of man’s earliest mining efforts, especially by the ancient Egyptians who extracted gold in Egypt and northern Sudan from around 3000 BC. There are records of underground gold mining in Nubia from 1300 BC.

The Vice-Minister of Mining Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), His Excellency Khalid Al-Mudaifer, spoke recently in London of his country wanting to play a part in “investing in new lands of opportunity.” To initiate this process, the inaugural FMS will include a meeting of ministers from across the Middle East, the north and east of Africa, and from countries in Central Asia.

KSA’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has confirmed that mining-company leaders at FMS will include the CEOs of Barrick Gold and Alcoa, Mark Bristow and Roy Harvey, respectively; and the chairmen of Ivanhoe Mines and Fortescue Metals, Robert Friedland and Andrew Forrest. Numerous other industry leaders will include the CEOs of Trafigura, Komatsu Mining and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), Jeremy Weir, Jeffrey Dawes and Rohitesh Dhawan.

Al-Mudaifer announced that FMS will showcase the region as a “new frontier for mining.” This part of the world, he said, will play a “vital role in meeting the exponential growth in global demand for the critical minerals needed in a low-carbon society.”

The offer of help for Africa is nothing new, of course. It is nine years since President Obama launched his ‘Doing Business in Africa’ campaign, and two years later, in August 2014, Obama unveiled US$33 billion in new U.S. financial commitments for the campaign, and invited Africa’s heads of state for a meeting in Washington.

Seven years ago, Obama told 49 African leaders that “we don’t look to Africa simply for its natural resources … we want to build genuine partnerships that create jobs and opportunities.” Progress has been slow, unfortunately, and S&P Global’s data suggests that the mining industry remains averse to investing in what is perceived as a risky continent. Now, however, at least the north of Africa might be able to look across the Red Sea for a financial kickstart.

— Dr. Chris Hinde is a mining engineer and the director of Pick and Pen Ltd., a U.K.-based consulting firm he set up in 2018 specializing in mining industry trends. He previously worked for S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Metals and Mining division.