What is minting, is it the same as mining?

Cryptocurrencies are mined and tokens are minted.

We call the process mining when a Bitcoin asset is created on the Bitcoin blockchain, or when Ether is created on the Ethereum blockchain. The continuity and operation of the Bitcoin blockchain cannot be isolated from Bitcoin mining; adding (or hashing) a new block to the chain records a fresh batch of transactions and rewards the node that created it with Bitcoin the asset. This is what distinguishes Bitcoin from a token, as stated previously.

We call the process minting when a new, third-party asset is produced on top of a blockchain, although the creation of that crypto asset is not necessary for the blockchain to function. That is why A4R is minted rather than mined.