In an interview at African Mining Week (AMW) 2025, Olivier Barbeau, Managing Partner at Moore Johannesburg, stated: “Everything that has to do with technology is the new gold rush on the African continent going towards critical minerals.”

He highlighted the growing role of digitalization in streamlining exploration, improving production, enhancing worker safety and securing supply chains. At the same time, Africa’s mining sector continues to face two pressing challenges: logistical constraints and regulatory stability.

“We’ve seen significant discussions and progress around logistics across the continent, particularly with improving those logistical corridors from central DRC and out to the ports. This will remain a central theme going forward.”

Due to the capital-intensive nature of mining, Barbeau noted that global investors increasingly require assurance of regulatory stability before committing to large-scale projects.

“We are engaging with delegates about how they ensure regulatory certainty for the projects they want to invest in, and how they can extract economic returns out of their mining investments.”.