African Mining May 2020 | Page 28

• 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