ERG Africa participated in the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2019 conference that took place on 4-7 February in Cape Town.
Gillian Davidson (Sustainability Advisor to Group CEO) represented the World Economic Forum’s Global Battery Alliance, of which Eurasian Resources Group is a founding member. She participated in the session: “Bringing Responsible Sourcing to Life: What does it mean for mines and their communities?”
Giles Smith (Marketing Director: Copper and Cobalt) participated in sessions that focused on the sourcing of key battery materials in Africa and the importance of ethical cobalt mining. He highlighted the cobalt production plans of our Metalkol RTR project.
In advance of the Mining Indaba, ERG shared its outlook for cobalt and copper prices. The Group sees a strong upside for cobalt and copper as underlying demand rallies. In 2019, the cobalt market will continue to be characterised by volatility. The upward price movement is likely to be achieved through a combination of restocking, improved investor sentiment, supply disruptions and a strong underlying demand for electric vehicles. New energy vehicles remain the most potent driver for cobalt demand, and it is forecast that 2019 will see even stronger growth rates than 2018, a year in which more than two million battery electric and plug-in electric vehicles were sold worldwide.