New wave of African mining M&A tempered by risk
October 6, 2009 · Posted in Mining Exploration · Comment
LONDON – Mining firms digging for Africa’s untapped riches are attracting renewed interest, but takeover deals are likely to be dominated by emerging market players that are prepared to assume greater levels of political risk.
In contrast, Western mining giants, which have long held a presence in the mineral-rich continent, have spent the last year weathering the economic downturn and are expected to remain more cautious about taking on high-risk deals.Leading the charge have been top emerging market miners like Kazakhstan-based ENRC, West African-focused Randgold Resources, and South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti, which have all recently snapped up small miners with rich assets in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo . Read more
