Aligning with AMW’s 2026 theme, “Mining the Future: Critical Resources, Sustainability and Community Development,” the delegation's participation coincides with a surge of investment-led growth in Africa. Holding approximately 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, the continent has emerged as a strategic destination for long-term capital, driven by skyrocketing global demand for critical minerals in clean energy technologies, defense applications, and advanced manufacturing.

As the leading independent provider of information, analytics, and benchmark prices for the energy and commodities markets, S&P Global Energy will help shape key discussions on the market forces and exploration trends impacting this vital sector.

 The S&P Global Energy executive delegation at AMW 2026 includes:

• Atul Arya, SVP and Chief Energy Strategist
• Rahul Kapoor, VP, Head of Shipping & Metals
• Vera Blei, Head of Platts
• Fernando Araya Burchard, Critical Minerals Lead
• William Mason, Associate Director, Mining Economics & Emissions
• Malick Diallo, Commercial Lead, EMEA & CIS 

Key S&P Global Presentations and Insights: During the event, S&P Global experts will provide proprietary data on the commercial realities shaping mineral development through their panel moderations and presentations. For example:  

• Dr. Atul Arya will moderate the Ministerial Panel “Regional Policy Alignment: Mining Code Reforms to Unlock Value.”  Rahul Kapoor will guide the conversations of panels, “The New Resource Contract: Balancing Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Investor Certainty” and “Unlocking Refining Investment.” 
• Transition Minerals and Capital Allocation: Fernando Araya Burchard will explore new opportunities across exploration, production, and mineral beneficiation. He will contextualize these trends against staggering demand forecasts—including a projected 350% increase in global lithium demand and a 130% rise in graphite demand by 2040—and discuss how African governments are leveraging international partnerships to expand capacity and modernize infrastructure.
• Bucking the Trend: Africa's Decade-High Exploration Surge and the Rising Cost of Production: Despite possessing some of the world’s largest reserves of copper, cobalt, platinum group metals, lithium, and rare earth elements, Africa attracts less than 10% of global exploration expenditure. William Mason will unpack this untapped geological potential and the commercial realities of production costs.
• S&P Global Energy will host c-suite roundtable on critical issues facing the mining industry in Africa.

ADVANCING TRANSPARENCY IN CRITICAL MINERALS 

 Africa’s central role in the energy transition benefits from transparent pricing and supply chain visibility. Aiding the market’s need for such transparency, S&P Global Energy’s Platts recently launched a set of spot market price assessments for rare earth elements: first-of-their-kind, for mine-to-industry “alternative supply chains,” reflecting  prices of refined materials originating from Angola, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and other nations and China rare earth elements, on a free-on-board basis.

 Additionally, S&P Global recently published independent reports on Tungsten, Antimony, NdPr, Gallium, and Germanium. These reports aim to advance market transparency and foster dialogue among producers, processors, consumers, investors, and policymakers regarding supply chains that are essential to defense, semiconductors, aviation, and other strategic global industries.

Dr. Arya spoke with African Mining Week highlighting the importance of Africa’s mineral wealth and opportunities for African nations and companies: “Global Mineral Race Positions African Producers as Active “Price Setters”, Says S&P Global Energy.”

African Mining Week runs alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2026 conference (October 12-16 in Cape Town), where S&P Global Energy is an Emerald Sponsor and will also feature an executive delegation.

For more information on African Mining Week, visit: https://african-miningweek.com/

For more information on S&P Global Energy, visit: https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en.