The organiser of the Investing in African Mining Indaba® (www.MiningIndaba.com) conference is pleased to announce that the JSS Empowerment Mining Fund has signed on as a sponsor of the new Junior Miners Pavilion, including the much anticipated Investment Battlefield Competition.

This newly launched $75 million fund, a partnership between boutique corporate finance firm Jaltech and JSE-listed Stefanutti Stocks, offers funding for junior opencast mining companies.

“We believe that junior mines that are viable now will be very profitable when commodity price levels improve in the future,” explains Gaurav Nair, Executive Director of the JSS Empowerment Mining Fund. “Supporting junior mining companies will directly benefit investors and stimulate growth in the South African economy. And the tax benefits for investors can be quite substantial.” [Note: Making use of a section 12(J) vehicle, allows all investors to claim 100% of their investment as a deduction from taxable income in the year of investment. Corporate investors are able to claim 70% of the investment as B-BBEE qualifying spend on their score cards every year, for as long as they are invested in the Fund]

    Supporting junior mining companies will directly benefit investors and stimulate growth in the South African economy

The sponsorship is a perfect fit for the Mining Indaba, says MD Alex Grose. “We have always focused on connecting mining companies with government and the investment community – this includes identifying and supporting the best junior mining companies.”

This year, Mining Indaba has devoted more of its resources to ensure that investment remains the overriding focus of the event. The Investment Battlefield Competition (http://APO.af/6m1B4h) will give junior mining companies the opportunity to pitch their projects to a panel of expert investors, competing for a number of prizes that will support the development of new projects. Involvement and support from the JSS Empowerment Mining Fund will take this platform to the next level.

The JSS Empowerment Mining Fund joins the Chamber of Mines of SA and the DMR in supporting the Junior Mining Pavilion and the Investment Battlefield Competition.

The first five participants announced are Bannerman Resources (Australia), Consolidated Nickel Mines (UK), Energizer Resources (Canada), IPC Coal (South Africa) and Premier African Minerals (British Virgin Islands).

For junior mining companies yet to register for Mining Indaba, signing up for the Investment Battlefield Competition is free and will grant free entry to the Indaba for the presenter of chosen competing mining companies. It is an opportunity not to be missed; see http://bit.ly/MIBattlefield for more information.