• COUNTRY IN FOCUS
Leon Louw
Despite hopes that renewable energy sources will replace coal as the major energy source in South African, it is not
possible to replace coal as baseload provider overnight. Whether you love coal or hate coal, black gold will be with is
for the foreseeable future, even after Covid-19.
CORONA HITS COAL
HARDEST
By Vuslat Bayoglu, executive chairperson at Canyon Coal and managing director at Menar Holdings
The chasm Covid-19 is causing to the world economy is getting deeper.
The economic causalities – debt-stressed companies, force majeure-hit
suppliers, disrupted global supply chains, stranded workers, and the poor
dragged further to the margins – are piling up daily.
The longer the global lockdowns remain in place the
harder will be the recovery. However, the necessity
to preserve life has rekindled our collective sense of
humanity and solidarity across the globe.
There is a clear understanding that whatever sophisticated
economies we might have, they are anchored on life. And when life
itself is under threat, everything must come to a near-stand-still.
From this perspective, it is only logical to reduce economic
activities to save lives. So, the decision by President Cyril
Ramaphosa and his counterparts around the world to announce
lockdowns was important.
Like all tragedies of global significance, Covid-19 will pass at
some point. There will be massive and intensive economic
reconstruction projects all over the world.
South Africa will need a well-planned resumption of economic
activities with strict and enforceable safety guidelines. Working with
his counterparts around the world, Ramaphosa must lead a wellsynchronised
return of South Africa’s production and export capacity.
26 • African Mining •May 2020
www. africanmining.co.za