Africa’s ability to attract sustainable mining investment increasingly depends on coherent policy frameworks, regional integration and coordinated infrastructure development – an outlook that aligns closely with the theme of this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, highlights Botswana mining industry lobby organisation Botswana Chamber of Mines (BCM) CEO Charles Siwawa.

Investor confidence is strengthened when mining jurisdictions offer predictable, stable and regionally compatible governance environments, with consistency, transparency and long-term clarity essential to attract domestic and foreign capital.

“You have to entice the business community to find a ripe ground for investing, whether the capital is local, regional or international,” he adds.

Through regional mining association the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa, the BCM continues to advocate for harmonised mining policies, licensing processes and fiscal frameworks across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

For example, the shifting global diamond landscape presents an important example of regional opportunity, says Siwawa, citing the efforts of Botswana, Angola and Namibia to play a stronger collaborative role in diamond exploration and marketing.

Here, an integrated industry approach could enhance transparency, strengthen negotiating leverage and build a more competitive Southern Africa diamond value chain, he suggests.

Regional Focus

The growing convergence of national interests demonstrates an increasing understanding that regional alignment can offer greater returns than isolated national strategies.

Infrastructure integration is equally critical, and the SADC’s strong mineral endowment must be matched by reliable cross-border logistics, transport corridors and water systems. Without efficient corridors to ports and markets, the region cannot capture the full value from its mineral resources, adds Siwawa.

Opportunities for public–private partnerships and intergovernmental coordination, therefore, remain extensive, he says, highlighting the energy landscape as another strategic area in which Botswana and Namibia hold significant resources with some of SADC’s strongest solar-generation potential.

Leveraging this potential would strengthen the Southern African Power Pool and help meet investor expectations around low-carbon mining, he urges.

In Botswana, community partnerships, beneficiation and economic participation remain central to the country’s long-term mining strategy. BCM members have made significant progress in social investment and enterprise development, with many companies allocating funds to corporate social responsibility, even without legislative compulsion, he adds.

The country’s beneficiation efforts, guided by the African Union’s African Mining Vision, continues to expand the domestic value chain.