AS a sign of the times with many organisations shifting their in-person events to virtual meetings following social distancing recommendations, the 2021 Mining Indaba will be held virtually between 2-3 February.  For all the challenges and the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlook for the mining sector in Africa looks remarkably upbeat. This is according to Shirley Webber, Absa's Head of Natural Resources and Energy at Corporate and Investment Banking, one of the silver sponsors of the annual Indaba. At the time the pandemic hit the African mining sector in the first quarter of 2020, everyone expected the…