• IN THE STOPE
MASHALE PHUMAPHI:
BOTSWANA’S COAL MOGUL
Courtesy of africalive.net
Shumba Energy is the only locally-owned coal and energy development
company in Botswana, Mashale Phumaphi (MP), owner and managing
director of Shumba Energy, tells AfricaLive.net (AL).
AL: Please give us a bit of a background on your company
and tell us what you wish to achieve?
MP: We started this company back in 2010 at a time when
South African power utility Eskom faced many powerproduction
challenges. Being from Botswana, I saw an
opportunity to exploit our vast coal resources both for the
export market, as well as for addressing our energy shortage
in the region. Talking of development, developing a coal
energy plant takes some time. You first have to determine
whether the deposits are economically viable, look at the
market and get the right technical know-how. We are very
cognisant of the prevailing global argument, which is all
about sustainability and environmental-consciousness. One
of our first goals as Shumba Energy is to ensure that we create
energy sources that are first of all sustainable not only from
a production perspective but also from an environmental
perspective.
One of our businesses is a coal to fuel facility, and we have
partnered with two of the leading companies out of China.
One of the companies is Power China, and the other Wison
Group. These partnerships will help us exploit our coal
resources without any harmful emissions. We are currently
looking at releasing 40% less carbon dioxide than the
conventional coal to liquids process. We want the world to
know that we are aware of the adverse effects coal has on the
environment. Despite the risks to the environment, we cannot
just sit on vast coal resources. Our goal as Shumba Energy is
to find ways to exploit these mineral deposits in the cleanest
way possible. We are also approaching hydroelectricity
generation and solar power generation in the same way.
AL: Speaking of solar energy, we have read that you are
interested in going deep into that. How true is this?
MP: Our interest in exploring solar energy is real. As you may
know, Botswana has enormous potential in solar energy. The
challenge with solar, is that as it currently stands, the cost of
storage is pretty prohibitive.
Pursuing solar is a great idea, but we are dealing with an
uncompetitive cost of storage compared to other forms of energy
such as coal, hydro, and geothermal. We have to examine the
most practical energy sources to exploit in our region. There are
enormous opportunities for hydroelectricity outside Botswana in
places like Zambia and the DRC though there are vulnerabilities
involved due to climate change. While we wait for sources of
energy like wind and solar to become more affordable to store,
we have to utilise coal in the most sustainable way possible.
Fortunately, we have the likes of Tesla who are working day
and night to slash the costs of storage. We estimate that in
the next fifteen to twenty years, the cost of storage will have
gone down to a level competitive with fossil fuel sources. In
the interim, if we can get coal-based electricity in a carbonneutral
way, why not continue to utilise this vast resource?
Our focus is being sustainable and thoughtful about how
we exploit our coal deposits to avoid negatively impacting
the environment. It is with that mentality that we are
producing cleaner diesel. This drive is not just about energy
sustainability but also about taking care of the citizenry. We
have to reduce unemployment from double to single-digit
numbers just like the countries in the Eurozone.
AL: You have talked about your efforts to minimise the
carbon footprint in line with the global mood. What other
trends do you see coming up in the future that will affect
the energy sector?
MP: We are already starting to see the private sector play
a more significant role than it used to. The private sector
is stepping in because state enterprises are bogged down
by many issues which include infrastructure building,
unemployment control and other headaches. Our
governments also don’t have the capital required to develop
the energy industry the way it should be. We have to create
new energy sources that are clean to use, and that can lead to
the rise of new industries. I see Independent Power Producers
(IPPs) playing a more prominent role because of this in the
future. We have set up two sites for our IPP project to address
our power shortages. Soon you will see energy become
36 • African Mining •May 2020
www. africanmining.co.za