Comment
The scourge
nobody talks about
Get in touch
@LeonLouw3
[email protected]
www.miningmirror.co.za
A
consultant recently asked me what risks a
company that intends investing in a coal
mining project in South Africa would
face. We went through a whole list of
possible scenarios and looked at the political climate,
economic future and social and environmental
concerns.
He then asked me about illegal mining and how it
affects coal mining operations. It was an interesting
question and something I hadn’t thought about much.
As far as I knew it wasn’t such a big issue as in the
gold mining sector, for example. I knew, however,
that coal theft, and not so much illegal mining, was a
problem in some areas of Mpumalanga.
Coincidentally, a day later, I read an interesting
article about the atrocious quality of coal that is
delivered to some Eskom power stations. According
to the article, what Eskom receives, is not what they
are supposed to put through their boilers. There
is more clay, rock and other dubious material in
the supplier consignments than actual coal, which
explains the inefficiencies and downtime, and
ultimately load shedding.
How this happens, is an open question. Strict
quality checks are supposed to be carried out (by
registered laboratories) on site before a truck leaves,
at weighbridges and again when it arrives, to check
if it is the same coal the truck loaded on site. The
article blames coal mining companies who blatantly
disregard procedure and regulations, and in a way,
this is true. After all, since the Guptas and Tegeta
dismantled all checks and balances, and started
playing by their own rules, it has been a free for all,
and I have no doubt there are companies that deliver
inferior coal to Eskom. In the short term it benefits
their own pockets, but in the long term, they are
inflicting irreparable damage on the state-owned
power utility that keeps their crushers grinding.
Nonetheless, after a trip down to the coalfields of
Mpumalanga and Bronkhorstspruit, where I spoke to
Coal theft is regarded by
those in the know, as not
one of the risks a coal mining
company operating in South
Africa has to face, but the
number one risk.
several operators, it became clear that the real problem
is coal theft. Crime syndicates have taken advantage
of the lack of proper quality checks, the dearth of
skills and experience, and the general misrule that has
befallen the country. Truck drivers either get paid, or are
forced (often at gunpoint), to unload the good quality
coal, which is then replaced with the “rubbish” that gets
delivered to our power stations.
Coal theft is regarded by those in the know, as not
one of the risks a coal mining company operating in
South Africa has to face, but the number one risk. And
it does damage to Eskom and the reputation of coal
mining companies. Moreover, it is costing them money.
They have to employ their own small army to protect
trucks and drivers.
Coal theft is the scourge that nobody talks about.
Leon
Editor
JUNE 2019 MINING MIRROR [1]