AAMEG CONTINUES ADVOCACY IN CANBERRA AS NEW HUB OPENS
By AAMEG | 20 March 2024
AAMEG welcomes the news that WA Government is opening a “Canberra Hub” to ensure WA’s interests are at the heart of the Commonwealth Government’s agenda.
AAMEG CEO Roger Staley said the WA Hub in Canberra – due to open on 27 March – would assist AAMEG in its advocacy for WA-headquartered resources and services companies that have spent billions of dollars in exploration and mining operations across Africa,
“AAMEG records (developed initially from S&P Global Intelligence) show that, of the 292 Australian listed, owned, or controlled materials and services companies operating in the resources sector of 44 African countries, 197 are based in Western Australia,” Mr Staley said. “That’s close to 70 per cent,” he added.
“Of these, 107 are materials companies, with projects at all stages from early exploration to established production,” Mr Staley said.
“In commercial terms, the in-situ resource and reserve value of the WA-controlled interests in African countries is more than AUD$5 Trillion,” Mr Staley said, adding that this was “a conservative estimate”.
“AAMEG has records for 34 of the 48 companies, which indicate that, in total, they have invested nearly AUD$9 Billion in their projects. Again, this is an underestimate of the situation for this group,” he said.
Next Steps: AAMEG increasing advocacy efforts in 2024
The Canberra Hub will prove useful when AAMEG travels to Canberra in coming months to advocate for stronger ties with African countries through economic treaties and strategic partnerships.
AAMEG is continuing to work on the development of an investment promotion and protection strategy for Africa that will not only improve the operating environment for companies mining in Africa, but also create downstream processing opportunities here in Australia.
“As the voice of the Australian resource companies in Africa, AAMEG is committed to raising the profile of the major investments made by Australian mineral and energy companies in more than 40 African countries, especially as this investment aligns with Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy for 2023-2030,” he said.
ENDS