As a senior person in South Africa’s mining industry, I had the honour of moderating the first session of the Young Professionals Programme at the 2026 Investing in African Mining Indaba.
I was blown away by the five panellists who joined me, and the discussion has reinforced my commitment to nurturing and developing young people entering the mining sector and encouraging others to do the same.
What I saw and heard during the discussion about “what do young professionals see as mining’s biggest challenges”, was that the five young professionals had different backgrounds, diverse jobs, and a healthy mix of education.
The audience and I were struck by their candour, smartness, and deep understanding of how the world works and specifically the mining industry, which they articulated in a way that resonated with all.
Their passion burned like a light for others to follow.
The mining sector is drawing on our full potential workforce compared to pre-1994, when women were prevented by law from working underground and jobs were reserved for certain racial groups. A fifth of the mining workforce are now women, and
participation is growing.
The artificial barriers that prevented the mining sector from reaching its full potential in the first century of our sector are being addressed, and, through a more inclusive work environment, the sector presents long-term careers for young people who want to make a difference.
At the end of the four sessions, I was left more resolute than ever that for the sake of ensuring that our sector has a great future, we, as mining leaders, must turbocharge our mentoring of young people. We must develop innovative financial products to anchor and support their ideals and aspirations.
The world must risk more on young people’s initiatives, which come in dreams, aspirations, innovations and ideals.
I believe there are great opportunities to be unearthed by young professionals. These young people are going to catapult our economies to the next level because they are about innovation, advancement, and human progress. They will not do it entirely on their own; they want us to be the enablers and not their minders.
Mentorship of young people is critical, but this does not mean that the mentors will provide handouts in the form of money.
People who wish to grow are not interested in money; they are interested in a piece of the mentor’s generous heart and their time. The themes of the four panels at the programme were jointly developed among four young professionals at the Minerals Council South Africa, a strong advocacy champion of South African mining and a strategic partner of the indaba and the conference organisers, Hyve, the organisers, ensured that the topics were relevant and thought-provoking for young people attending the sessions free of charge to enable them to engage and network at Africa’s biggest mining conference.
The Young Professional Programme is a masterstroke. In its new format, where the content is designed by young people for young people and social media plays a role in highlighting the event, there is now a specific platform for young professionals to share ideas, and occasionally, hear from mining sector veterans such as Anglo American South Africa chairperson Nolitha Fakude and myself about how and why we entered mining, the changes we are driving, and the future of the sector.
Attendance in the room of about 900 people was double that of last year, and I have no doubt the Young Professionals Programme will grow and become so much more than it is now. I’d like to leave you with this thought: “Young people still have clean hands that are itching to be soiled by the mud of meaningfulness, development, growth, and prosperity.”
- Teke is Group CEO of Seriti Holdings
