Source: Zimasa “mooshtaffa” Vabaza
The story of Coal in SA is the story of Africa’s most industrialized economy fighting for its competitive industrial advantage in a world that is saying we should stop using our most important resource because they spent the last 100 years building their economies while messing up the planet and now we must all carry collective responsibility for fixing it while slowing down our progress and our development.
SOUTH AFRICAN COAL, CLIMATE CHANGE & R1,5 TRILLION DODGY WESTERN LOANS
SOUTH AFRICAN COAL, CLIMATE CHANGE & R1,5 TRILLION DODGY WESTERN LOANS
Coal is a very important commodity to South Africa, our coal reserves are estimated to be at 53 billion tonnes and with our present production rate there should be almost 200 years of coal supply left under our earth.
Last year, 50.35 million tonnes were exported from here, although this was lower than the optimal export volumes, at an assumed average price of $300 per ton last year, SA exported R200-R283,7BN worth of coal out of the country from this very port. Coal is a major economic driver for us.
The country’s coal mining industry employs over 87 000+ people, about 20.48 percent of total mining industry employment. Those same people earn between R24.7 – R30.71 billion in wages and salaries every year.
70% of the coal mined in South Africa is consumed domestically, only 30% is exported.
In South Africa, coal remains an essential component in the country’s energy mix, Coal accounts for about seventy 70% of our primary energy consumption, about 75% percent of our electricity generation and about 30% of petroleum liquid fuels. Coal is SA’s highest foreign currency revenue earner
The sector generates about 10.13 percent of SA,s total foreign exchange earnings, Just last year South Africa was given the greenlight that over the next 5 years it would receive an R163bn( $8,5 billion)… fund/ loan.
The story of Coal in SA is the story of Africa’s most industrialized economy fighting for its competitive industrial advantage in a world that is saying we should stop using our most important resource because they spent the last 100 years building their economies while messing up the planet and now we must all carry collective responsibility for fixing it while slowing down our progress and our development.
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