Mining Indaba DAY 3 Roundup – Wednesday 11 February 2026
Key messages from day 3
Today’s focus was again on strategic partnerships, in line with the overall 2026 event theme, but with more focus on bolstering infrastructure, with corridors being the new focus to get not only minerals out – but energy in.
Talks also centred on the importance of early investment from the get-go of projects, to ensure they come to fruition – particularly in terms of improving infrastructure from both a physical and a digital point of view.
A key talking point was whether Africa will ever create the infrastructure needed to realise its critical minerals value-addition ‘dream’. Read the team’s full summary of this session below.
Can Africa create the infrastructure required for value-addition?
Infrastructure cannot be built everywhere at once. The panel emphasised a hub-based approach and better use of existing assets and corridors as the realistic pathway. Infrastructure was framed as a key enabler for moving from an extraction model to a processing and value-add model.
To unlock critical minerals exports and downstream processing, the speakers highlighted a minimum ‘stack’ of enabling elements consisting of ports, rail/logistics, energy and manpower/skills.
The point was less ‘what’s missing’ and more ‘how do we integrate these elements effectively to unlock throughput and competitiveness?
Key takeaways from this session:
- Energy demand was repeatedly flagged as a foundational constraint – including how to build power capacity from the bottom up and align it with industrial corridors
- To shift from extraction to processing, the speakers described a more hands-on approach across the chain including bundling/coordination upstream to reduce friction and staying connected from upstream to downstream delivery
- Lack of coordination within and between countries was described as a key obstacle, with relationship building and alignment between actors being positioned as a practical prerequisite for delivery
- Derisking was a core theme with social license to operate and community relationships being central to project bankability, and human capital contributing to stability and long-term sustainability
- Partnerships were repeatedly framed as a key strategy, especially those with mutual benefit across public and private actors. Similarly to yesterday, a practical mindset was emphasised – don’t wait for perfect conditions – start projects early, intervene quickly, and build momentum.
Recap | Watch the day 2 highlights
A recap of the TDi team’s key messages from the Mining Indaba on Tuesday 10 February 2026 in Cape Town.
