As the Africa Mining Indaba 2026 begins today (9–11 February 2026), it arrives at a critical moment in Africa’s climate, development and extractives agendas. Mining Indaba 2025 marked a shift in the mining discussion by championing “future-proofing” African mining through local beneficiation, sustainability and technological innovation as pathways to unlocking the continent’s critical mineral potential. The event tends to focus more on investment, technological advancement, and regional industrialisation, emphasising opportunities for growth and economic returns. At the 2025 event, outcomes included a united push for mineral value retention via local processing in countries like Namibia and Zimbabwe, stronger strategic partnerships across governments, private sector and communities, and unprecedented spaces for inclusive stakeholder engagement that formally invited community, civil society and indigenous voices into the conversation. While technological innovation and regional industrialisation were also highlighted, the deeper challenge of embedding justice, accountability and community power in extractives remains unresolved and this is where Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) 2026 and AfriCGE’s vision converge.
Why AMI 2026 Matters
AMI 2026 is a three-day, community-led gathering that challenges dominant mining narratives and places the lived experiences of mining-affected communities at the centre of the dialogue on extractives and the energy transition. It brings together community activists, faith-based groups and civil society to share stories, strategies and collective action, including public exhibitions and marches to the Mining Indaba precinct in Cape Town. AMI is explicitly designed to be a counter-narrative to mainstream forums, amplifying community voices that are too often excluded from formal policy spaces, and linking mining, energy transition, climate justice and social protection.
This matters because, despite institutional recognition of inclusive dialogue, many mainstream spaces still fall short in shifting power towards communities. AMI’s justice-centred approach ensures that extractive and climate transition debates are not framed solely by investment or technological metrics, but by the impacts, priorities and rights of people on the ground.
Aligning AMI 2026 with AfriCGE’s Shaping Inclusive Transitions
AfriCGE’s Shaping Inclusive Transitions (SIT) initiative calls for the green and just transition to be rooted in grassroots agency and leadership, not just policy targets or investment promises. SIT advocates for transitions that prioritise people and communities, integrate indigenous knowledge, boost grassroots climate solutions, and embed community insights into national, regional and global decision-making processes. Crucially, SIT works to ensure that those most affected are not merely consulted but are central architects of transition pathways.
This aligns directly with the ethos of AMI 2026. Both reflect the view that grassroots voices must move from the margins to the centre of climate, mining and development conversations. Whether through participatory research and community dialogues, amplifying women’s and youth leadership, or enabling community-led policy advocacy, AfriCGE’s SIT initiative and AMI share a foundational commitment ensuring that local realities shape policy and investment agendas rather than being shaped by them.
From Participation to Power
While Mining Indaba 2025 signalled an opening towards community engagement, AMI 2026 must extend this further from participation to community power. This means championing principles such as free, prior and informed consent, equitable benefit-sharing models, transparency in resource governance, and locally driven development priorities beyond token involvement. In doing so, AMI and SIT both affirm that a just transition cannot be assessed by investment figures alone, but by whether communities retain dignity, agency and long-term benefit from resource-driven growth.
Confronting the Achilles’ Heel of the Just Transition
The global push for critical minerals highlights Africa’s strategic role in the clean energy future, but it also exposes a critical fault line without fundamental structural shifts, the energy transition risks replicating the same extractive injustices of the past under a “green” banner. Communities around mines continue to face environmental harm, socio-economic marginalisation and fragmented governance, even as policy forums talk about innovation and partnerships. AMI 2026 rooted in grassroots testimonies, collective organising and direct engagement with decision-makers is uniquely positioned to challenge this Achilles’ heel of Africa’s just transition.
Looking Ahead: Better Alignment for Deeper Impact
Going forward, it must be emphasised that frameworks like AfriCGE’s SIT and platforms like AMI are not peripheral to mainstream discussions, they must be central to ensuring transitions are just, inclusive and anchored in people’s lived realities. Aligning the AMI more closely with broader institutional dialogues such as Mining Indaba creates opportunities for shared learning, policy influence and mutual reinforcement. It ensures that the priorities emerging from community spaces are not siloed but feed into investment, governance and climate policy spaces, strengthening the legitimacy and sustainability of Africa’s transition pathways.
At a time when Africa’s minerals are central to the global energy transition, it is not enough to talk about growth and innovation, the conversation must be rooted in justice, power and community leadership. AMI 2026, together with AfriCGE’s Shaping Inclusive Transitions, offers a powerful blueprint for what a people-centred, equitable and transformative transition could look like.
Author: Kennedy Simango
Research Analyst
