- South Africa’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Mr Gwede Mantashe has confirmed that coal will remain the mainstay of South Africa’s energy basket for the next 10 to 20 years and a strategic sector as well as a job provider.
- Mantashe was speaking yesterday at the Coal Colloquium, a platform to resolve any bottlenecks impeding the growth and development of the sector.
South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe. Image credit: SAgov
In his speech Mantashe pointed out that South Africa is highly endowed with coal. The country is also highly depended for its baseload and therefore energy security on coal generated energy. Thirdly, the coal mining and energy generation industries do not only bring massive revenue but also employs thousands of employees.
The Minister added that government intends introducing interventions that will not sterilise the development of its coal resources. Instead, all new coal power projects would be based on high efficiency, low emission technologies and other cleaner coal technologies coupled with underground coal gasification, Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) and the development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
Mantashe added that the new Eskom build and the coal Independent Power Producers will sustain the coal industry. Global coal consumption is expected to continue an upward trend in the medium term, driven by demand from developing nations in Asia, Africa and South America. He emphasised that coal exporters could look for new markets in Asia which could include Pakistan, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and Bangladesh.
In conclusion, Mantashe appealed to the captains of industry in the coal sector “You should not be shy to fight for South Africa’s national interests on coal mining and coal power stations as long as you also demonstrate commitment to moving from high carbon to low carbon emission including net zero emission projects.”
Link to the full speech HERE
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
