From 21 to 23 May 2024, the second edition of the international conference Mining the Connections was held at the Kenzi Rose Garden Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco!
The conference brought together more than 150 participants from 22 countries. This new edition focused encounters between mining companies, communities, transitions and environments from a multidisciplinary perspective, and was jointly organized by research networks examining worldwide resource development impacts: MinErAL network, the LIA SESAM, the LMI AMIR and the RAM2D network. During the plenary sessions, we had the chance to hear the current director of the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), El Alami Jamila, the director of Strategy and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Bouqartacha Farah, the director of Fuels and Mining Industries, Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Ouhmed Mohammed and the vice-President of Cadi Ayyad University, Taourirte Moha. We were also privileged to listen to insights from Canadian Senator Rosa Galvez, Coginta's Executive Director Gouraud Sébastien, Aubert Clément, who leads the Innovation and Valorization Department at the IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Rokhaya Samba Diene, General Manager of the National Geological Survey of Senegal.
The presentations offered a wealth of content and variety, sparking numerous conversations. The conference featured 102 papers in 19 sessions, 8 roundtables and a launch book. The "Mining the Connections" conference stood out due to its extensive and varied participation. Four research networks, dedicated to addressing mining concerns across North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania, marked the academic community's involvement. Of the conference participants, 27 were from the Maghreb, 55 from Sub-Saharan Africa, 33 from Europe, 26 from North America, 5 from South America and 4 from the Pacific region. Of these, 119 participants were from scientific institutions, 12 were from the private sector, 5 were from civil society and 14 were from government departments and agencies. In addition, 1 master's student, 38 doctoral students and 2 postdoctoral researchers attended the event. Students from different networks were able to network to increase their opportunities for international collaborations and co-leadership. Community participation was also strong, including the chief of the village of Kokumbo, a town in central Ivory Coast, and a member of the Indigenous Council of Los Pasos Del Jaguar, El Salvador. The government sector was also well represented, with the Moroccan National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), Senegalese Ministry of Mines and Geology, the National Security Council at the Ivory Coast Presidency or the DRC's mining cadastre. The private sector was also represented by actors from the mining industry, notably Perseus Mining, Endeavour Mining, Koniambo Nickel SAS, Jabos Engineering SA (JESA) and Engie Lab CRIGEN. Finally, the local and international NGO sector was represented, notably by Women's International Network for Solidarity and Mutual Aid or Minière africaine.
The "Mining the Connections" conference served as a platform to forge connections among these different actors and tackle the various aspects of mining development within an interdisciplinary framework.
Thank you all for your participation, which has greatly contributed to the success of this conference.
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