Charlotte Mathews
1 December 2008
Johannesburg — COMPANIES with interests in the coal industry are being urged to participate in a R5,5m, two-year initiative that will get moving early next year to draw up a plan for the industry's long-term development.
The South African Coal Roadmap held its first meeting a year ago and subsequently put together a charter, mandate and confidentiality protocol. On Friday it held its second, report-back meeting, chaired by Roger Wicks of Anglo American, to discuss the documents.
Wicks said he believed this was an initiative of national importance. If the coal industry had begun this process five years ago and put together a roadmap or long-term strategy, he had no doubt that January's energy crisis, which saw extensive load shedding by Eskom, could have been avoided.
According to the mandate, SA's coal reserves are expected to last 140 years at current consumption rates. In 2006, export coal was SA's third-largest mineral export and contributed R21,6bn to foreign exchange earnings while at the same time 90% of SA's energy was generated from coal.
The roadmap will research various components of the industry, local and international factors that will affect it in future and identify the best options that can be followed for future development. It is intended to bring together large users of coal, suppliers, associations and relevant government departments.
The roadmap is an initiative of the Fossil Fuel Foundation of SA and it has received early support from Anglo American, Eskom, Sasol, the Chamber of Mines and the minerals and energy department.
Members of the initial advisory board emphasised on Friday that the process needed to be inclusive and invited any companies with interests in drawing up a strategy for the industry and raising issues of major concern to put names forward within the next three weeks to join the advisory board and working groups.
The contribution from members of the advisory board would be R100000 a year , according to draft proposals.
One of the delegates at the meeting raised the concern that this could be too expensive and exclude smaller companies, especially black empowerment companies.
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