Gold Fields, alongside executive representatives from the Mali Chamber of Mines and international advisory firm Moore Global, will lead critical industry discussions on expanding continental bullion production during the upcoming African Mining Week (AMW) 2026, scheduled for October 14–16 in Cape Town.
The headline panel session, titled Expanding Africa’s Gold Output, will bring together public policy architects, major project developers, and strategic capital partners to map out the future trajectory of the continent’s gold sector.
Taking place against a backdrop of sustained global gold prices remaining above $4,000 per ounce, the flagship forum aims to unlock investment, accelerate exploration, and harmonize formalization efforts across major producing jurisdictions.
“As African governments and mining companies accelerate efforts to expand gold production and capitalize on strong global demand, African Mining Week (AMW) 2026, taking place October 14–16 in Cape Town, will spotlight the policies, partnerships and investments driving the continent’s next phase of growth in the gold sector.”
APO Group
Benford Mokoatle, Executive Vice President: South Africa at Gold Fields, will participate on the panel alongside Fousseni Togola, President of the Mali Chamber of Mines, with moderation by Matt Banton, Head of Mining at Moore Global.
The high-level gathering comes as central banks across Africa including those in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, and Namibia expand domestic gold purchase programs to reinforce national foreign exchange reserves and solidify broader financial resilience. To capture this momentum, African nations are enacting aggressive policy reforms designed to modernize sector governance, streamline capital deployment, and maximize mine life across key mineral belts.
As African governments and mining companies accelerate efforts to expand gold production and capitalize on strong global demand, African Mining Week (AMW) 2026, taking place October 14–16 in Cape Town, will spotlight the policies, partnerships and investments driving the continent’s next phase of growth in the gold sector.
The event will feature a dedicated panel, Expanding Africa’s Gold Output, exploring strategies to increase gold production, formalize artisanal and small-scale mining and strengthen investment across the value chain.
The session will be moderated by Matt Banton, Head of Mining at Moore Global, and feature Fousseni Togola, President of the Mali Chamber of Mines, and Benford Mokoatle, Executive Vice President: South Africa at Gold Fields.
Capitalizing on Record Prices and Macroeconomic Demand
The macroeconomic backdrop for continental gold production has rarely been more favorable, yet transforming historic price environment support into long-term extraction requires structural capital deployment.
Global central bank demand has provided a firm floor for the bullion market, prompting domestic financial authorities to integrate locally mined gold into reserve asset portfolios. This domestic market creation offers regional miners immediate off-take security while reducing dependency on volatile international arbitrage.
However, extracting maximum value from these market conditions requires navigating complex supply chain constraints, inflationary cost pressures, and changing tax frameworks.
The panel at AMW 2026 will directly address how corporate leadership and regulatory bodies can collaborate to convert market tailwinds into tangible operational footprint expansion across West, East, and Southern Africa.
Formalizing Artisanal Mining and Reforming Governance in Mali
West Africa’s gold sector demonstrates how regulatory modernization can unlock latent capacity, with Mali serving as a prime case study in structural sector overhaul.
The Malian government is executing targeted reforms to ensure annual national gold output reliably exceeds 60 metric tons.
A cornerstone of this strategy was the July 2026 establishment of the Malian Office of Precious Substances, a specialized state body tasked with supervising and formalizing artisanal gold operations across roughly 400 mining sites that currently support nearly two million workers.
At AMW 2026, Fousseni Togola will detail how the Mali Chamber of Mines is championing these governance reforms to build a transparent ecosystem for international high-grade investors.
By bridging the gap between small-scale operators and industrial producers, Mali seeks to preserve local economic participation while sustaining long-term partnerships with major international miners, including Barrick, B2Gold, Toubani Resources, and Cora Gold.
Revitalizing Deep-Level Extraction and Exploration Capital in South Africa
In Southern Africa, revitalizing mature gold fields requires advanced operational innovation alongside dedicated exploration funding.
The South African government has actively responded by expanding its Junior Mining Exploration Fund to R600 million, a initiative structured to provide emerging explorers with direct access to risk capital and stimulate new primary discoveries.
Parallel to government exploration incentives, private sector operators are committing massive capital outlays to secure long-term production hub status.
Gold Fields is spearheading this drive by investing R1.714 billion through 2027 to deepen its flagship South Deep Mine, extending the facility’s productive life well beyond 2030.
Benford Mokoatle’s presentation at AMW 2026 will provide crucial insights into how deep-level technical innovation, sustained capital investment, and labor partnerships can successfully revitalize legacy mining operations and re-establish South Africa’s competitive stance on the global stage.
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