News

The Mint Directors Conference (MDC) and the South African Mint would like to announce the postponement of the MDC2020 in Cape Town to 17 to 20 November 2020. This decision to prioritise the welfare of MDC members and attendees, was taken amid increasing concerns for global travel as the rate of infections from the coronavirus, now referred to as the COVID-19, are growing daily and spreading between countries.

2020 presents a threshold moment
for the Mint Industry. This is the year we will challenge the aradigm that dismisses circulating coins as relics of the past, and create a stronger appreciation of the enduring value that coins contribute to economies and societies around the world.

South Africa, like all other nations, is taking the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak very seriously.

As with all other nations, South Africa (through its National Institute for Communicable Diseases – NICD) has intensified screening at all ports of entry into the country, with a particular focus on major airports.

The name Mint Directors Conference (MDC) represents both the peak body of government mints worldwide, and its international conference, which is held every second year in a different location around the world, with MDC member mints taking turns to host it. This year it is the turn of the South African Mint, which will be hosting the 31st conference in Cape Town from 26-29 April.

Message from the chairmann
Dr Manfred Matzinger-Leopold
Chairman Mint Directors Conference – Technical Committee
Why Shall any MDC Member Join The Mint Directors Conference – Technical Committee (MDC-TC)?

Ross MacDiarmid – Secretary-General, Mint Directors Conference
As we stand at the brink of a new decade, it is timely that the MDC will kick off an important discussion on a threshold issue in the early months of 2020. That is, what is the future of the global Mint Industry and what should we be doing now to prepare for it?

Ross MacDiarmid – Secretary-General, Mint Directors Conference
The UK ‘Access to Cash’ review found that around 17% of the UK population, over 8 million adults, would struggle to cope in a cashless society, and stated that, “Cash can no longer just be seen as a commercial issue—it is a matter for public policy”.

The year 2019 marks an important anniversary in South Africa’s recent history. Twenty-five years ago, in April 1994, the country held its first democratic elections, a significant step towards the formation of a new country and the adoption of the constitution.

The South African Mint, a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced that the biennial Mint Directors Conference (MDC) will return to South Africa in 2020. The upcoming event will mark the 31st of its kind and will be held in Cape Town and Pretoria, in April 2020.