INSIGHT
INSIGHT
live at the mine for four months while working on the
turnaround plan. ZAC has done so well that it was now
close to declaring a dividend in which workers and the
community, who have a 13% stake each, stand to benefit for
the first time as shareholders.
“It took a lot of hard work to turn around ZAC,” said Bayoglu,
who referred to the culture changes and management
changes that had to be instituted to boost morale of
workers and instil confidence of the community in the mine.
Bayoglu stated that visibly-felt leadership, creating open
and clear lines of communication with all stakeholders,
and having good and reliable partners, were among the
key reasons for the group’s success to date. Menar assets
produce 7.5-million tons a year of run-of-mine (ROM).
Bayoglu also touched on the historical and global
significance of coal. The invention of the steam engine and
all the benefits that flowed from it including the industrial
revolutions which benefitted the modern world powers of
Europe and the United States, undeniably came from the
coal and its beneficiation for use in power generation and
steel manufacturing.
Bayoglu said that coal mining played a fundamental
role in bringing about peace and stability to post-World
War 2 Europe by providing stable power and being the
key ingredient for European Coal and Steel Community,
precursor to the European Union.
“Coal has a long and illustrious history of providing energy
stability and is anticipated to play a key role in the global
energy mix for many generations to come according to
energy analysts. This is supported by the fact that there
are currently 1 600 coal plants that are planned or under
construction in 62 countries worldwide. These new plants
would expand the world’s coal-fired power capacity by
43%,” he highlighted.
Bayoglu noted that these power plants
were being established, or are being
planned to be established by
countries, who have signed
the Paris Climate Agreement,
which seeks to reduce carbon
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African Mining January 2020
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African Mining January 2020 www. africanmining.co.za