Praveen Baijnath to Champion Artisanal Mining Finance at Mining in Motion 2025

Rand Refinery, a dominant player in the downstream processing segment, is intricately linked to Ghana’s upstream mining operations through its major shareholders.

Praveen Baijnath, CEO of South Africa’s Rand Refinery, has been officially announced as a headline speaker at the upcoming Mining in Motion 2025 Summit, a landmark event set to take place in Ghana’s capital city. Hosted by the Ashanti Green Initiative in collaboration with the World Bank, World Gold Council, and other global partners, the summit will run under the central theme “Sustainable Mining & Local Growth – Leveraging Resources for Global Impact.”

As a seasoned leader at the helm of the world’s largest integrated single-site precious metals refining and smelting facility, Baijnath’s participation is expected to significantly shape discussions around the future of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). His presence also symbolizes a deeper strategic alignment between South Africa and Ghana, two major African gold producers with increasingly interlinked gold value chains.

Spotlight on Sustainable Financing: Enabling Growth for Artisanal Miners

Baijnath is scheduled to contribute to one of the summit’s most pivotal sessions — a high-level panel discussion titled “Medium to Long-Term Funding Models for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining.” This forum will convene thought leaders, financial experts, and policymakers to unpack the systemic financing barriers that hinder the growth of ASM and to propose innovative mechanisms to improve capital access for small-scale miners.

A core aspect of Baijnath’s address is expected to revolve around the downstream sector’s transformative role in enhancing value retention on the continent. With extensive experience in refining, smelting, and market integration, Rand Refinery’s CEO is uniquely positioned to advocate for policies that enable artisanal miners to move up the value chain, contributing not just to local economies but also to Africa’s global competitiveness in the precious metals market.

Economic Context: Ghana-South Africa Gold Ties Strengthen

Ghana’s small-scale gold mining sector remains a key economic driver, generating $5 billion in export revenue in 2024 alone. Importantly, South Africa absorbed 60.5% of Ghana’s intra-African gold exports, illustrating a deep and growing trade interdependency.

Rand Refinery, a dominant player in the downstream processing segment, is intricately linked to Ghana’s upstream mining operations through its major shareholders. AngloGold Ashanti, which holds 42.5% of Rand Refinery, operates Ghana’s Obuasi and Iduapriem mines. Likewise, Gold Fields, with a 33.15% stake, oversees the Tarkwa and Damang gold mines. These operational overlaps emphasize the strategic importance of Baijnath’s presence at the summit as a bridge between the upstream and downstream industries.

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High-Profile Delegation and Global Stakeholder Engagement

Mining in Motion 2025 is expected to attract a distinguished array of participants, including H.E. John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana, alongside high-level representatives from the African Union, ECOWAS, the United Nations, and the private sector. The summit serves as a platform for aligning sustainability, inclusive development, and resource optimization across the continent’s mining sector.

In this multilateral setting, Baijnath’s insights will contribute to broader dialogues about cross-border cooperation, capacity building for artisanal miners, and technology transfer to improve mining safety and efficiency.

Looking Ahead: Building a More Inclusive Gold Ecosystem

With mounting global focus on environmental responsibility and equitable growth, the role of ASM in the African mining landscape has become more vital than ever. Baijnath’s advocacy for sustainable funding models, backed by his deep industry expertise, could help redefine the economic trajectory for millions of small-scale miners who contribute significantly to Africa’s gold output but often remain marginalized in terms of financing, regulation, and market access.

As Mining in Motion 2025 draws closer, the sector will be watching closely how voices like Baijnath’s shape the policy landscape — offering a vision of mining that is not only profitable but also just, inclusive, and locally empowering.