Taita Taveta University (TTU), through its Centre of Mining, Environmental Engineering and Resource Management (CEMEREM), successfully hosted the 5th Biennial International Conference from 30th September to 1st October 2025.
The conference was preceded by two days of pre-conference training in Mining, GIS, and Business Sustainability, setting the stage for insightful discussions and capacity building.
The event featured keynote addresses by industry leaders and leading scholars, alongside scientific paper presentations, innovation exhibitions, poster sessions, and a young scientists’ competition. It attracted a wide range of participants from across the world, including Kenya, Germany, Finland, the United States, Canada, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Mozambique.
The theme of this year’s conference was:
“CEMEREM AT 10 – Natural Resource Management in Africa’s Primary Natural Resource Sector: Technology and Innovations for a Sustainable Future.”
Discussions and presentations were organized around the following sub-themes:
- Emerging technologies, industrial revolution, and digital transformation: Implications for the future of the mining sector in Africa.
- Sustainable mining and environmental management: Perspectives on circular economy, critical minerals, and post-mining land use.
- Mining, biodiversity conservation, and climate, land, energy and water systems: Models and case studies for conflict resolution and sustainable solutions.
- Policy, governance, and inclusive socio-economic empowerment in the primary natural resources sector.
- Innovative financing and formalization strategies for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM).
- Mining education and training in Africa: Gaps, challenges, and opportunities.
The conference was officially opened by Prof. Fred Simiyu Barasa, Vice Chancellor of TTU, and closed by Dr. Andrew Mwadime, Governor of Taita Taveta County.
A memorable highlight of the closing ceremony was the cutting of a cake to mark 10 years of CEMEREM’s partnership between Taita Taveta University, TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany), and HTW Dresden University of Applied Sciences (Germany), a collaboration made possible through the support of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). Over the past decade, this partnership has significantly shaped research, education, and innovation in mining and natural resource management, leaving a lasting impact on TTU and the wider sector.