Africa’s energy – or in many cases its lack thereof – continued to dominate conversation on the second day of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, told delegates that the ongoing lack of energy, particularly in South Africa, was hitting the economy hard and there was little else to do at present but give mining houses the right to generate their own power.
“Load-shedding is bad for the economy. In the mining sector it brings production to a halt. You cannot send workers underground during power outages.”
Mantashe said while there were figures available indicating what load-shedding was costing the economy, it was probably conservative and there were questions over whether load-shedding was truly being quantified.
He said it was therefore imperative for mining companies to have the ability to continue production.
Generating own power would ensure this.
Anglo Gold’s Mark Cutifani said the “brutally honest” conversations being held were indicative of a far more positive operating environment for miners.
“We still have risks, issues that we are going to deal with, but the fact that we have got some brutally honest conversations is good.”
Also up for discussion was the increasing move of the mining sector towards renewable sources where costs were starting to come down, making them a far more viable option.
Delegates heard that financing for coal-related projects was fast drying up. On the other hand, funding for renewable energy projects was on the increase.
