Policy elements for twenty-first century African mining

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to interpret current global events to extrapolate the issues of twenty-first century for consideration by African mining policy and decision-makers. Design/methodology/approach: The high-level mining issues are identified to assess what lies ahead for the twenty-first century. Some of these require innovation, called beacons for twenty-first-century mining in this paper, so that decision-makers can consider policy instruments and management strategies to craft a more desirable future for governments and companies, without affecting other stakeholders negatively. Findings: It is proposed that African mining should consider three cross-cutting elements as subsets for the existing policy themes and management decisions, namely, broad benefit, mine sustainability and business improvement. Digital technologies have the potential to significantly support the three elements for fast-tracking Africa’s sustainable economic development. Research limitations/implications: Although the findings can be applied to most of the developing world, the focus of this paper is on the African mining industry. Practical implications: Practical considerations for policymakers in Africa. Originality/value: This paper includes novel/original policy considerations that have the potential to become cross-cutting elements for the existing policy themes of the Africa Mining Vision.