UK Government Gets Cosy with Africa's Mining Sector as 'Platinum Sponsor' of World's Largest Industry Conference

authordefault
on

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has booked a prime spot as a โ€œplatinum sponsorโ€ of the worldโ€™s biggest mining investment conference in South Africa this week โ€” showcasing the UK governmentโ€™s support for the extractiveย sector.

The sponsorship enablesย the DIT to host a UK pavilion at the Investing in African Mining Indaba annual conference in Cape Town,ย attended by thousands of delegates representing more than 220 mining companies and 350 investors, according to theย organisers.

The DITโ€™s large-scale presence at the conference comes after Prime Minister Theresa May claimed the UK would be a global green leader as she announced the launch of the governmentโ€™s 25 year environmentย plan.

While the Prime Minister is keen to bolsterย her party’sย green agenda at home, the DIT has encouraged UK companies to ramp up their operations in Africaโ€™s mining sectors where environmental regulations are known to operate on lower standards than in the UK.

Speaking to DeSmog UK, Richard Solly, the co-ordinator of the London Mining Network, an alliance of NGOs working with communities affected by the activities of mining companies based in or funded from London, calledย the governmentโ€™s promotion of โ€œdestructive British mining investmentโ€ at the conference in Africa โ€œanย outrageโ€.

Mining activities can have damaging impacts on the environment including the loss of biodiversity and deforestation, erosion and the contamination of surface water, groundwater and soil from leakage ofย chemicals.

Some of the mining activities discussed during the conference includeย the extraction of gold, copper, iron ore, cobalt, lithium, uranium, diamonds and coalย โ€”ย the dirtiest form of fossilย fuel.

The mining industry has come under the spotlight for its social impacts and crackdowns on those opposing its activities. According to a recent report by human rights NGOย Global Witness, mining (alongside agribusiness) was the deadliest industry for activists to oppose, with 36 deaths recorded across the world inย 2017.

โ€œFor communities living on mineral-rich lands these deals often mean displacement, destruction and deathโ€ –ย Richard Solly,ย London Miningย Network

Promoting the event on its website, the DIT pointed out that as the global demand for natural resources increases, โ€œAfrica is seeing greater interest from developers in a continent estimated to contain approximately 40 percent of the worldโ€™s naturalย resourcesโ€.

The DIT also encouraged UK-based mining companies to โ€œtake advantage of the opportunityโ€ and promised senior mining executives access to the industryโ€™s โ€œkey decision makersโ€ through itsย pavilion.

Besides โ€œhuge potentialโ€ for UK mining and infrastructure supply chains, the DIT also promoted the event as providing โ€œenormous potentialโ€ for investments in Africaโ€™s extractive sector โ€” upholding Londonโ€™s role as a key player in financing the miningย industry.

A Department for International Trade (DIT) spokesman said that as a result of the departmentโ€™s support to the conference over the last two years, an additional ยฃ312 million worth of exports to the African mining sector have beenย secured.

UK Pavilion: Aย Lobbyingย Space

The UK pavilion was set-up by the DIT to act as stage for relationship-buildingย between African government officials (including mining ministers), investors and company executives through โ€œhigh quality networking and bespoke one to one meetingsโ€.

The DIT said its team was available โ€œto facilitate new opportunitiesโ€, โ€œconnect [executives] with potential business partnersโ€ and provide โ€œpersonalised pre, onsite and post eventย supportโ€.

This is not the first time the DIT has played a facilitating role between UK-based extractive companies operating abroad and foreign government officials in a bid to boost UK exports ahead ofย Brexit.

Last month, DeSmog UK reported on email correspondence obtained by Culture Unstained which showed BP used a direct line to the governmentโ€™s DIT to further its interests inย Russia.

Another investigation in the DIT‘s activities in India showedย that while the UK government pledged millions of pounds to the countryโ€™s clean energy mix, annual reports from the governmentโ€™s export credit agency โ€” which falls under the DITโ€™s remit โ€” showย the government underwrote loans of almost ยฃ194 million to help Reliance Industries, a key player in Indiaโ€™s oil and gas sector, buy goods and services from UK companies between April 2015 and Aprilย 2017.

AIM market: The โ€œWild Westโ€ for Junior Miningย Companies

London is the leading financial capital for the global mining industryย because of the strength of the London Stock Exchangeโ€™s main market and the concentration of financial services experts in the City. Some of the worldโ€™s biggest mining companies such as Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Vedanta Resources have set-up their headquartersย there.

The city has been given top billing at the Cape Town-based conference. One of the events, for instance, discussed the โ€œprofile and prestige of a London [stock exchange] listingโ€ forย junior miningย companies.

According to the conferenceโ€™s agenda, the panel of speakers includedย Tom Attenborough, the London Stock Exchangeโ€™s head of international business development and primary markets, and Nick Davis, the CEO of Memery Crystal, a London-based firm specialised in natural resources law which boasts the slogan โ€œwhen it comes to natural resources we drillย deeperโ€.

Some of the questions intended to focus the panel discussion included how a London listing helped to generate cash by โ€œtapping into [Londonโ€™s] diverse global investor baseโ€ and exploring the difference between the stock exchangeโ€™s main market and junior market, also known as the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange thatย allows smaller and often less-viable companies to float shares in order to raise funds. Described as โ€œthe wild westโ€ and โ€œa casinoโ€, AIM has a more flexible regulatory system than the main market. This โ€œlight touchโ€ regulation has been blamed for enabling a number of financial frauds cases and corruption scandals to takeย place.

The AIM market is popular with junior mining companies seeking to raise funds quickly without the burden of the main marketโ€™s more rigid regulatory environment. A total of 100 junior mining companies from all around the world are currently listed on AIM, according to its registry.

Following a slump in commodity prices, Londonโ€™s financiersโ€™ appetite to invest in the mining sector could be back on the table, according to a Deloitte report into the health of miningย finance.

UK Investors on the Frontย Line

Dozens of investors โ€” including some of the worldโ€™s largest funds โ€” are confirmed to attendย the Indaba mining conference, according to the eventโ€™s website.

Evy Hambro, co-manager of UK-based BlackRock World Mining Trust and the chief investment officer of the asset management firmโ€™s natural resources team, isย one of the conferenceโ€™s keyย speakers.

Many UK-based asset management companies are also registered to attend the conference,ย with at least 36 of the 120 registered investment firms based in the UK.

Some of the perks promised to investors by the conferenceโ€™s organisers included one-to-one meetings with CEOs and management teams, potential direct access to African mining ministers, full access to a VIP investor lounge for private meeting spaces and access to an online investor portal filtering the mining companies attending theย event.ย 

Richard Solly, of the London Mining Network, denounced the fact ‘London money’ was facilitating destructiveย mining activities around the world and impacting localย communities.

โ€œAs a leading centre of mining finance, London sucks in money from mining sites all around the world while local residents are left to deal with the industry’s destructive impacts,โ€ heย said.

โ€œFor all the industryโ€™s efforts to present mining as sustainable, responsible and a driver of development, for communities living on mineral-rich lands these deals often mean displacement, destruction and death,โ€ heย added.

Responding to DeSmog UK‘s request for comment on the department’s sponsorship of the event, aย DIT spokesmanย said:

โ€œThe UK is a world leader in promoting international best practice approaches to sustainable mining developments, placing an emphasis on preserving human and natural environments in areas around a mine, while developing vitalย infrastructure.โ€

Image Credit: Fifty/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC BYSAย 4.0

Get Weekly News Updates

Related Posts

on

Victoria Hewson called the 2050 ambition a โ€œhuge own goalโ€ while working for a Tufton Street think tank.

Victoria Hewson called the 2050 ambition a โ€œhuge own goalโ€ while working for a Tufton Street think tank.
on

Ahead of a city council vote, Resource Works launched an influence campaign with stock submissions for restaurant owners, hospitality workers, and residents.

Ahead of a city council vote, Resource Works launched an influence campaign with stock submissions for restaurant owners, hospitality workers, and residents.
on

Ahead of the November 29 election, dairy producers tell Irish government to step off the โ€œtreadmillโ€ of unsustainable milk production โ€“ and share a more holistic vision.

Ahead of the November 29 election, dairy producers tell Irish government to step off the โ€œtreadmillโ€ of unsustainable milk production โ€“ and share a more holistic vision.
on

The head of the CO2 Coalition tells DeSmog that Wright agrees carbon dioxide is โ€œnot the demon molecule, itโ€™s the miracle molecule.โ€

The head of the CO2 Coalition tells DeSmog that Wright agrees carbon dioxide is โ€œnot the demon molecule, itโ€™s the miracle molecule.โ€