Mining Mirror July 2019 | Page 25

Mining in focus Space for new companies storage is thus critical, but at present, affordable mass energy storage remains a pipe dream,” he said. The example of Germany is instructive. While it has been at the forefront of embracing and incorporating renewable energy into the power mix, it has experienced bumps in the road. The rapid transition to renewables led to the cost of electricity for households to almost double between 2000 and 2017. In addition, even though it has a reputation for pioneering renewables, coal continues to provide 40% of its power. Another consequence of a badly planned energy transition is that it will discourage investment in coal mining. This in turn would affect not only the industry’s ability to keep up supplies to South Africa’s own growing fleet of coal-fired power stations, but also to supply coal to Asia’s high- growth economies. Mareda said that the environmental consequences of coal must be faced up to. However, there are emerging technologies that attempt to mitigate many of the downsides. For example, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and Eutectic Freeze Crystallisation are leading technologies aimed at reducing the use of water, while carbon capture has become standard at many coal power stations globally to reduce emissions. Again, the example of Germany is instructive: it has failed to meet its emission reduction targets despite its huge investment in renewables because it failed to monitor increases in other sectors, such as transport and manufacturing. Electricity generated by coal is not the only cause of carbon emissions. coal is exported from, can move 72 million tonnes of export coal per annum, and Maputo, in Mozambique, has capacity for another five to six million tonnes per annum. There is also the dry bulk terminal and the Navitrade Terminal at Richards Bay which, between them, can take another five to six million tonnes. In total that is about 88 million tonnes per annum. “Between Eskom and export, it adds up to more than 300 million tonnes of raw coal that should be mined every year. There is also a 70 to 80 million tonne per annum shortfall of coal in international markets. Indonesia increased their production from 290 million tonnes per annum to 550 million ton per annum in less than 10 years. It means more jobs and foreign currency for Indonesia, it’s massive. South Africa has a world class port and infrastructure at RBCT with a capacity of 100 million tonnes, and it’s using only 72 million tonnes per annum. There is obviously a shortfall,” Bayoglu said. The global thirst for coal is unlikely to be quenched within the next five to ten years. Coal has always been a bedrock of the South African economy, and although it is clear that renewables will play an increasingly important role in the energy mix in future, for now coal still appears to reign supreme. Although the coal playing fields in South Africa are much more clogged than they were 10 or 20 years ago, the good news is that there is still space for a lot more companies to enter the market. According to Vuslat Bayoglu, CEO of Canyon Coal, the fact that majors are exiting from coal globally, has left a big gap in the market. “South Africa is an emerging economy that needs to create jobs. Therefore, it needs to have a cheap and consistent power supply. The country’s grid has to operate efficiently, and coal is important because it generates base load,” Bayoglu told Mining Mirror during a recent interview. “Anglo American is not putting more money into coal, they haven’t built a new mine in the last 10 years, so where is the investment going to come from? South Africa needs coal, Eskom needs coal. The reason why Eskom is short of coal is that major mining companies didn’t invest in coal because coal is unwanted. South Africa needs 130 million tonnes for Eskom, and 20 million tonnes of coal for industrial use, which means 150 million tonnes of saleable coal. Where is this going to come from? On top of that nobody is investing in new mines,” Bayoglu said. In addition, the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), where South Africa’s Although renewables form an important part of the energy mix, questions are being ask whether renewable energy sources like solar plants will be reliable. More and more wind turbines are springing up all over South Africa, but coal remains at the mainstay of the country’s energy mix. www.miningmirror.co.za JULY 2019 MINING MIRROR [23]