BASE METALS 2009
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Fifth Southern African Base Metals Conference

Kasane, Botswana, 27-31 July 2009

The Fifth International Base Metals Conference, to be held in Botswana for the first time in 2009, follows on from the previous four bi-annual conferences held in the southern African region.

1st Base Metals Conference, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, July 2001
2nd Base Metals Conference, Sun City, South Africa, 2003
3rd Base Metals Conference, Kitwe, Zambia, June 2005
4th Base Metals Conference, Swakopmund, Namibia, August 2007
5th Base Metals Conference, Kasane, Botswana, July 2009

Mowana Lodge, Kasane The fifth event is scheduled to take place at the Mowana Lodge in Kasane, Botswana, over three days, followed by a technical tour (via a chartered flight) to Tati Nickel and the BCL smelter.

'The past decade has seen a tremendous revival of the base metal industry in Africa, coupled with an unprecedented increase in the prices of base metal commodities the last couple of years.'

The paragraph above was the introduction to the invitation message for the previous Base Metals conference, held just two years back in Swakopmund. So, what has changed in the short term? Is it going to continue, or change for the better again? With this in mind, the 5th Southern African Base Metals Conference is organised with no specific theme.

This conference will consider the contributions being made by the mining and metallurgical disciplines to the base metals industry, despite the sudden changes in the macroeconomic environment. The conference will also explore how the base metals industry in Africa can survive and capture the maximum potential, given the new macroeconomic environment. The applications of metal accounting in Southern Africa will also be covered.

The conference, to be held in Kasane, Botswana, also confirms the efforts of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) to entrench a regular Southern African forum on base metals that is held throughout the Southern African region.

The conference is thus an ideal venue for mining and metallurgical professionals from all countries in the region to be exposed to the latest advances in exploration, resource evaluation, projects, and technological advances in the base metals industry in the region. It provides an ideal opportunity for international participants to gain in-depth knowledge of and exposure to Southern Africa's base metals industry.

The organising committee is looking forward to your participation at the conference in July 2009.

Hosted jointly by the metallurgical and mining technical sub-committees and Botswana branch of the SAIMM, this forum will endeavour to:

Promote dialogue between mining and metallurgical disciplines on common challenges facing the base metals industry
Encourage synergistic practices
Understand respective technologies, all leading towards optimal resource utilization

There has been rapid growth in exploration, resource evaluation, projects, and technological advances in the base metals industry in Southern Africa in recent years. Therefore we invite mining and metallurgical professionals who are active in this field, in all African countries, to participate in the conference.

The technical programme consisting of refereed papers will be made up of joint sessions of common interest to the entire audience. These sessions will cover:

The efficiency of capital and operating expenditure
Manpower resources and the requirements necessary to run the industry
Environmental regulations and their impact on the base metals industry
Africa as a prime investment venue
Special infrastructure, logistics, and energy supply considerations
The mining/processing interface - breaking down the traditional barriers

Papers were invited in the following areas:

New projects
Novel technologies relating to this industry
The current status of research and development
Socio-economic challenges
Compliance with legislation and codes of practice
Product differentiation
Vertical integration and value enhancement
All fields of base metals mining
All fields of base metals metallurgy
Conformance to environmental requirements

This conference is being organized by the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), and the organising committee is chaired by Paul Fouche (Paul.Fouche@exxaro.com).

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