The Investing in African Mining Indaba, more commonly referred to as the Mining Indaba, is held on an annual basis in Cape Town, South Africa.

As with any other events and conferences, the Mining Indaba has been affected over the last three to five years by the economic and commodity downturn, but has remained an important event because of its focus on the broader African mining sector, and the range of delegates that attend Mining Indaba, including executives, government departments, investors, and the junior mining sector.

Mining Indaba 2017 was an interesting event. There seemed to be a level of positivity which was absent at Mining Indaba 2015 and 2016. There were some concerns that the positivity expressed at Mining Indaba 2017 was "self-created" in an attempt to present a more rosy picture of the mining sector.

In contrast, Mining Indaba 2018 was a positive event. Not because participants and delegates were "talking up" the mining sector, but because there have been very real transactions and positive developments.

In addition to Hogan Lovells having offices in Perth and Sydney, there are strong links to several Australian mining-focused exploration and mining companies that are actively engaged in the exploration and mining sector across Africa. Our teams also work closely with several of the Australian High Commissioners and with Senior Trade Commissioner, Mr Kym Fullgrabe.

It made sense for us, because of this, to take up a sponsorship with the Australian Trade Commission at Mining indaba 2018. Hogan Lovells sponsored the networking event on 5 February 2018. Riaan Manser, an intrepid South African explorer presented a short key note address on overcoming obstacles and the need for passion and drive to achieve goals.

Some of the photographs that were taken with members of the Hogan Lovells team and Senior Trade Commissioner, Mr Kym Fullgrabe are below.

In general, Mining Indaba 2018 was regarded as a successful event by most participants because of the view that the positive growth seen in late 2017 and early 2018 is likely to be sustainable throughout 2018, with all of the positive consequences that may flow from this.