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DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum to provide much-needed strategic focus for minerals of the future

“Building an inclusive and equitable battery metals sector in the heart of Africa”

Driven by the demand for batteries and electric vehicles in a transparent and open environment, the continent welcomes the new DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum: a specialised event that will gather high-level representatives from the entire battery metals industry value chain from 12–13 September 2023.

Battery metals and minerals include cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, graphite, manganese, rare earths and the 3Ts (tin, tantalum and tungsten). The DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum will take place in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC where about 68% of the world’s cobalt is mined.

DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum is committed to positioning DRC as the African hub for battery metals production and manufacture. It is about creating wealth for the entire DRC and African battery metals industry value chain,” said Sam Madlabane, Event Director.

VUKA Group CEO David Ashdown stated, “The forum will provide a prime engagement platform and meeting place for government, mining companies, key stakeholders, technology and service providers and end users to facilitate dialogue in defining and building a new extractive sector of the industry in the DRC. In addition, it is important to build an inclusive and equitable battery metals industry in the heart of Africa, underpinning broad-based sustainable growth, local beneficiation and socio-economic development.”

Flagship events

The DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum forms part of the already impressive mining portfolio of the VUKA Group (formerly Clarion Events Africa), with long-running flagship events, such as DRC Mining Week and Nigeria Mining Week, which was recently held to record numbers in Abuja, as well as Mining Review Africa, a leading industry magazine and online news platform.

The event will comprise a two-day conference and there are various sponsorship opportunities for sector leaders to promote their sustainable mining industry practices to government officials, key leaders and decision-makers. AVZ Minerals Limited has already been confirmed as the cobalt plus sponsor.

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