Extractive Industries and Human Development Center
A Virtual Symposium on Developing Best Practices for the Extractive Industries and Human Development: Southern Africa
October 24, 2024
10:00 – 12:00 EST/US
Please join us for a virtual symposium on Thursday, October 24th at 10:00am EST. To attend, please register here.
The symposium will focus on best practices for ensuring communities, governments, and the private sector benefit from the massive capital investment in infrastructure, mining and manufacturing that is currently taking place in southern Africa.
A 21st century mineral rush is underway as businesses, often enjoying financial backing from governments in industrialized countries, increasingly extract resources, such as copper, cobalt, graphite, coltan, tantalum and lithium, necessary to transition to economies that are more climate friendly. Exploration for precious metals and gems as well as for petroleum and natural gas also continues unabated.
For example, the United States government is seeking to ensure a greater diversification in the sourcing, supply chain and processing of minerals critical to the transition to a climate friendly economy. To achieve this, US joined other G7 countries to form Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. Through the partnership, the G7 nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States aim to mobilize $600 billion in public and private funding for infrastructure by 2027. According to the White House, the Partnership will deliver game-changing projects to close the infrastructure gap in developing countries, strengthen the global economy and supply chains, and advance U.S. national security.
While discussion will draw on the specific experience of Angola, Mozambique and Zambia, the wider implications of growing global investment in the extractive industry and infrastructure sectors will also be examined.