Namibia hosts Africa’s first International Forum for Sustainable Development in the Minerals
Industry (SDIMI) Conference 2022
Namibia hosts the 2022 International Forum for Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry in
Windhoek, Namibia, between 15 and 17 September, 2022. The objective of SDIMI 2022 is to assist
the global mining and minerals industries in their transition to sustainable development. The
conference will run under the theme (Making Economies Great through Sustainable Mineral
Development). This will be a hybrid conference entailing a real-time, face-to-face component as well
as a virtual component.
Announcing their major sponsorship of the event, Prof. Harmony Musiyarira of the Namibia
University of Science and Technology (NUST) hailed the mining industry of Namibia for hosting the
first SDIMI on African soil for the first time since the inaugural conference of 2003, which was held in
Milos, Greece and attracted 200 international attendees.
“A key challenge remains the ability of the minerals industry to meet the needs of a growing
population without depriving future generations of the means to meet their own needs. We are
faced with a highly consumptive population whose current needs might compromise future
provisions. This is compounded by deepening environmental and social concerns, stringent supply
chain procurement standards, as well as public pressure and regulatory measures that have
profoundly transformed the mining industry’s approach to doing business. As the intense call for
sustainability comes to the fore, it can no longer be business as usual for the mining industry. It is
our natural responsibility to ensure that future generations are not deprived of much-needed
resources”, said Prof. Musiyarira.
Musiyarira said he hoped that SDIMI 2022, which marks return of the 10th of a series of SDIMI
conferences, will provide a platform for active discussion of these multiple and complex issues,
putting them into perspective within a broader context in the various thematic areas.
The last SDIMI, held before the COVID-19 global pandemic, took place in in Sydney Australia from
May 27 to May 29, 2019. The theme of the conference was “Embedding Social Licence: Perspectives
and Promises”.
