IGF Activities at 2026 Mining Indaba
- Angola joined the IGF, becoming our 86th member country
- Isabelle Ramdoo, IGF Director, moderated a session examining whether the term “Critical Minerals” right for Africa? The traditional definition for critical minerals was defined by the global north referring to minerals need for the energy transition. Panellists discussed whether Africa follow this definition, if it right for its development, and whether there a clear way to avoid definition overload.
- Ege Tekinbas, IGF Senior Policy Advisor, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, joined a panel organised by BHP Foundation and The University of Cape Town’s Metals to Minerals Initiative. She discussed why investing in ASM formalization matters, explaining targeted investment can improve social inclusion, environmental performance, security, and gender outcomes, while addressing a sector that is often overlooked in traditional mineral governance funding.
- William Davis, IGF Economic Advisor, participated in a panel discussion asking Can Africa balance resource nationalism with investment certainty? His intervention highlighted that African governments are not trying to pursue “resource nationalism” at the expense of investors, they just want to grow local industries and increase local economic benefits of mining.
- Thelma Halim, IGF Policy Advisor, and William Davis, IGF Economic Advisor, participated in a side event organised by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The event focused on unlocking Zambia’s copper potential and identifying opportunities for local value addition.
Side Event | Beyond the Mine Gate: Shared infrastructure and skills for Africa’s mining future
- Date: Monday February 9, 2026
- Time: 14:30 – 16:00
- Location: The Cullinan Hotel
- Organizers: IGF and Global Affairs Canada
- Register now
As Africa plans for a more sustainable and resilient mining future, the question is no longer only how minerals are extracted, but what remains once mining activities evolve or end. Across the continent, mining investments have created extensive physical, energy, digital, and social infrastructure that often serves remote or underserved regions. When designed as shared assets rather than enclave facilities, this infrastructure can become a powerful foundation for community resilience, local economic diversification, and post-mining development. This session examined practical examples and regulatory frameworks that enable mining companies, governments, and communities to share, repurpose, and transfer infrastructure and expertise.
Side Event | Strengthening the Business Environment for Battery-focused Special Economic Zones in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
- Date: Wednesday February 11, 2026
- Time: 09:00 – 12:00
- Location: Rockefeller Plaza
- Organizers: IGF
- Register now
In 2022, the DRC and Zambia signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop a value chain leading to the production of electric vehicle batteries between the two countries. This workshop focused on building a way forward on strengthening the business environment for the respective special economic zones, and how the IGF can support the two countries to do so.
Side Event | Dialogue on Regulatory Framework for Remining and Reprocessing Waste Rock and Tailings: Focus on copper and lithium
- Date: Wednesday February 11, 2026
- Time: 14:00 – 17:00
- Location: Rockefeller Plaza
- Organizers: IGF
- Register now
This expert dialogue formed part of the IGF’s broader efforts to engage with technical experts and countries that are already revalorising tailings and waste rock through remining and reprocessing initiatives. Consolidating existing knowledge, practical experience, and lessons learned to inform the development of a scoping study and initial policy recommendations for governments, this work will also inform future IGF technical assistance and capacity-building activities in selected countries seeking to access critical minerals, including copper, lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements, that may be recoverable from legacy sites through revalorisation of tailings, or reuse of waste rock, such as for construction aggregates.
Women’s Rights and Mining (WRM) Group Side Event | Unearthing Markets: Trade access for women in Africa’s mining sector
- Date: Thursday February 12, 2026
- Time: 14:15 – 15:15
- Location: Radisson RED
- Organizers: WRM Group
- Register now
Women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), play a critical role in Africa’s mineral supply chains yet remain largely excluded from formal and higher-value markets. Barriers such as limited buyer access, complex regulatory and standards requirements, weak market linkages, unequal access to trade-related information and discrimination continue to constrain women’s participation in mineral trade. But there are also plenty of success stories to draw inspiration from.
This session, organized by the Women’s Rights and Mining (WRM) Group and hosted by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), explored how trade frameworks, responsible sourcing standards, and market-driven initiatives can better support women’s access to mineral markets. The expert panel will draw on perspectives from African women in mining networks, international trade and policy practitioners, standards and due-diligence experts, and grassroots ASM initiatives to show how trade access for women can really work in practice, positioning women-led SMEs as viable and competitive actors in responsible and equitable mineral value chains.