Growth and diversification 
in mineral economies
Regional workshop for mineral economies in Africa

Background | Programme | Documents | Summary | Participants

Background
(French text)

   For many countries in Africa, particularly the least developed, mining, usually based on foreign investment, offers a way to increase export incomes and government revenues, thereby mobilizing the resources necessary for economic and social development and laying the foundations of a more diversified industrial structure. The increasing share of world wide exploration and investment expenditure directed towards several African countries in recent years demonstrates that efforts to promote mining investment are likely to meet with success within a relatively short time period from the initiation of policy changes. Other countries that have no or modest mining activity at present, but which are considered to have geological potential, are considering the introduction of policies and institutions, particularly in the areas of taxation and regulation, that serve to attract investment and to maximize the contribution to the economy from mining.

 While large-scale mineral production is still a relatively new phenomenon in some African countries, others can be considered to be mature mining economies and are facing important policy issues that are related to the importance of the mining sector, including macro-economic instability, insufficient competitiveness in agriculture and manufacturing, uneven income distributions, and inequalities between regions. In these countries, there is often a need to develop policies that address the lack of horizontal and vertical diversification and aim at maximizing the contribution of mining to their economies. A particular concern is the need to ensure sustainability of economic development in areas that depend on mining once mineral deposits are exhausted.

 It is against the background of these issues and to address the problems facing African countries in both groups that UNCTAD is organizing a workshop on growth and diversification in mineral economies in Cape Town from 7 to 9 November 2000. The workshop is organized as part of an UNCTAD project on diversification and commodity based development, which is funded by the United Nations development account. It is one of several regional and sub-regional workshops planned under the project.

 For more information about the workshop, contact Olle Ostensson, e-mail olle.ostensson@unctad.org

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