THE number of listed Australian mining companies with operations in Africa has tripled to 160 in the past seven years.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Dennis Richardson said Australian miners were involved in 500 projects across 40 nations in Africa, taking the value of Australian investment in the continent's resources sector to an estimated $20 billion.
"This year alone, more than 20 ASX-listed companies have been added to the number of firms with assets in Africa," Mr Richardson said in Perth yesterday at the annual Africa Down Under conference, which attracted a record turnout. "The growth of this investment has been impressive, both in absolute numbers and in geographical spread."
The surge in Australian investment in Africa comes amid debate about the Labor government's planned mineral resources rent tax, which some have suggested will drive more Australian mining companies to low-cost countries in Africa.
Last month, Canada's Fraser Institute ranked Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania, Ghana and Botswana ahead of Australia in a survey of perceptions of sovereign risk among mining chiefs across the world.
Mr Richardson warned yesterday that while Africa was more politically stable and prosperous than ever, it was still home to 33 of 49 of the world's least-developed countries.
South Africa's Mineral Resources Minister, Susan Shabangu, told the conference her country was aiming to be a minerals processor and exporter of raw materials. "This will also help unlock renewed interest in South Africa's minerals wealth," she said. "Australia and other like-minded resources countries are obvious sources for this new investment opportunity."
Ms Shabangu said her country was not planning to introduce a mining tax similar to Australia's.
"We never even thought about it," she said. "We knew there was going to be big trouble, so we're not in any way thinking in that particular direction."
Ms Shabangu said a review of South Africa's mining charter aimed at streamlining the approvals process would be released this month.
