Last week the Mining Indaba came and went just like it does every year. Some 7,000 people attended. On its margins, outside of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), a different kind of mining indaba, a people's indaba, took place in close by Woodstock. This was the 5th Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI), which serves as a counterpoint to the industry event. AMI voices always struggle to find their way into the CTICC, but the chorus from the margins is growing stronger with each passing year.
Nevertheless, a sombre mood hangs over mining. The State of the Nation Address (SONA) added to this dystopia, as President Jacob Zuma's speech and whatever little it had to say about mining got swept away by the public distraction over the fracas that ensued at the opening of parliament.
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