We participated in an engaging panel discussion on Monday, 9 February, at Webber Wentzel’s Cape Town offices, followed by a Q&A session, co-hosted by Eversheds Sutherland and Webber Wentzel, with insights from the Presidents of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and Delos Dispute Resolution.

As we all gatherered in Cape Town for the Mining Indaba 2026, conversation centred on the future of Africa’s mining industry. In recent years, mining disputes across the continent have been reshaped by new contractual disputes, resource nationalism, the interplay of States’ national policies with international law, and the shift from traditional expropriation claims to performance-based licence issues, such as minimum-work obligations. These changes, combined with ESG-driven considerations and geopolitical pressures, are redefining the nature of arbitration in the mining sector and shaping the issues that parties and tribunals are now confronting. Our panel discussion set out to take a closer look at these trends.

During the discussion, we heard from a panel of arbitration leaders: Claudia Salomon (President, ICC International Court of Arbitration); Hafez Virjee (President, Delos Dispute Resolution); Kudakwashe Chitanga (Regional Manager: Legal, First Quantum Minerals); Priyesh Daya (Partner, Webber Wentzel); Nick Alp (Partner, Webber Wentzel); and Wesley Pydiamah (Partner, Global Co-Head of International Arbitration, Eversheds Sutherland), who explored these topics in depth and shared practical insights, from both practitioner and institutional perspectives.