African Mining Week to Spotlight Cutting-Edge Mining Tech

Cape Town: The upcoming African Mining Week (AMW), Africa's premier gathering for mining stakeholders, scheduled for October 1-3, 2025, in Cape Town, will feature a dedicated Technology Forum. The forum will connect African mining projects with global technology providers and investors, showcasing how digital solutions are transforming resource extraction and redefining the mining value chain.According to African Press Organization, as African countries scale up mineral production to drive GDP growth, developers are increasingly adopting data analytics and digital tools to boost operational efficiency. U.S.-based startup KoBold Metals, which applies artificial intelligence (AI) to mineral exploration, entered the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in April 2025 to tap into the country's estimated $24 trillion in untapped mineral resources. The DRC, already the world's largest cobalt producer and a key copper supplier, could see its global mining profile rise significantly with KoBold's involvement. In Zambi a, the company is advancing the $2 billion Mingomba project, one of the world's most promising untapped copper assets. Similarly, in Zimbabwe, Caledonia Mining is investing $1.1 million in IT infrastructure upgrades at the Blanket Mine as part of its $41.8 million capital budget. The upgrades include new mine planning software and a digital clocking system to improve labor efficiency, with a goal to increase gold output from 76,656 ounces in 2024 to up to 77,500 ounces in 2025.In Botswana, Botswana Diamonds is employing AI-driven exploration to expand beyond diamond mining, recently identifying new prospects for copper, silver, cobalt, gold, nickel, zinc, and platinum group metals. "During the initial analysis of the big database, it became clear that the AI technology could be used to identify other unknown minerals opportunities - and so it turned out," said John Teeling, Chairman of Botswana Diamonds.