JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining's future will not be built only by the largest companies. Even though major mining houses are economically critical, history has shown that discoveries are usually made by optimists, entrepreneurs, and explorers.

Every operating mine started as an idea, a map, a drill programme, and a group of people prepared to take a risk when success was still uncertain, Junior Indaba chairperson Bernard Swanepoel pointed out in opening the vibrant junior mining event on Tuesday, June 9. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

“We meet at a fascinating moment. The world’s becoming more fragmented, supply chains are being redrawn, nations are competing for access to minerals, capital is becoming more selective, and yet Africa's mineral endowment has never been more strategically important.

“So, the question is no longer whether Africa has the resources. The question is whether we can create the conditions that allow investment, discovery, and development to flourish,” Swanepoel said amid the event’s reiteration of today’s world in all likelihood requiring significantly more mining than seen in recent decades, which is where junior mining companies have a fantastic opportunity to play increasingly catalytic roles.

Junior mining companies were urged to forge ahead with even greater determination.

“South Africa, in particular, faces a choice: we can continue debating our challenges, or we can become globally competitive again.

“Investors have options. Exploration capital is mobile, and I would say fickle. Good intentions are not enough. Competitiveness matters,” Swanepoel pointed out during the event covered by Mining Weekly.

He expressed the strong hope that there would be a move beyond diagnosis and that the Junior Indaba would trigger partnership, project funding and new mines against the background of mining ultimately being a business of faith, patience, and perseverance, that at times required participants to take themselves completely out of their comfort zones.

The event stretched out to draw in the viewpoints of the in-person and online audience with the first poll undertaken posing the question of what Africa lacks most when it comes to junior mining stimulation, and these voting options: policy certainty, investment, more collaboration, or projects.

The lot fell overwhelmingly on policy certainty indicating that governments, in particular, have a central role to play in creating a conducive environment for mining investment.

Also wanted is regulatory efficiency and licensing processes that are transparent, predictable, and responsive.

While a modern cadastral system will not solve every challenge, it was made clear that a globally competitive exploration industry cannot be built without one.