https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Coal is a reliable and cost-effective means of generating power – analyst

28th June 2013

By: Chantelle Kotze

  

Font size: - +

South Africa has enough coal resources to supply all State-owned power utility Eskom’s existing power stations, plus ten more, says coal advisory firm XMP Consulting senior coal analyst Xavier Prevost.

He believes that South Africa, which has an estimated 33.1-billion tons of coal reserves, will for the foreseeable future maintain its 93% dependence on coal for electricity generation, as power generation through coal is a reliable and cost-effective way of producing electricity, owing to its abundance in South Africa.

Power generation through coal is cur- rently also more environment friendly than it was in the past, owing to clean coal technolo- gies (CCTs) and should not be stigmatised as the main culprit for global warming, he says, adding that South Africa is advanced in the development of CCTs, with research continually being conducted.

However, in light of the many negative factors deterring investors, the challenge facing South African mining is to maintain and attract enough investments through which the coal mining industry can subsist.

On average, between 150-million tons a year and 160-million tons a year of coal will be needed to support Eskom’s coal consumption once the Medupi power station, in Limpopo, and the Kusile power station, in Mpumalanga, come on line – if coal is used as fuel only for coal-fired power stations.

However, if coal is used for coal-bed methane or underground coal gasification purposes, then much less coal would be mined conventionally, with more being used indirectly, in the form of gas.

Meanwhile, in response to Mineral Resource Minister Susan Shabangu’s statement that government reserved the right to take corrective measures (by declaring coal a strategic mineral) to ensure that the country has sufficient coal for power generation, Prevost says declaring coal a strategic resource will further hinder investment in the sector.

In March, Prevost told Mining Weekly that declaring coal a strategic resource to protect Eskom’s future would be “going about it the wrong way”.

He suggested that, instead of declaring coal a strategic resource, South Africa should limit exports of low-quality coal needed for Eskom to generate power.

Prevost maintains that export-grade coal is not in competition with Eskom-grade coal, and that “it, in fact, contributes and, in a way, subsidises the lower- grade middlings product used by Eskom”.

“Thus, if more export coal is produced, more Eskom coal is generated,” he says.

However, South African Coal Roadmap steering committee chairperson Ian Hall stated in February during the IHS McCloskey South African Coal Exports Conference, in Cape Town, that there was a serious coal shortage in South Africa to supply Eskom, especially over the next six years.

Of the four-billion tons of coal that Eskom would need over the next 40 years, two-billion tons would have to come from new sources, stated Hall.

Prevost agrees with this, stating that more mines are needed but are unable to be developed, owing to the scarcity of funds.

The Waterberg coalfield, in Limpopo, with diversified resources group Exxaro’s Grootegeluk coal mine as the pioneering mine, contains 75-billion tons of coal –more than 40% of South Africa’s remaining coal resources – and will have to be developed to meet the demand for more coal.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

Comments

Showroom

Alco-Safe
Alco-Safe

An unmanned breathalyser that is made to be tough and simple to use. Can be used in any environment for operator-free breathalyser testing.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Booyco Electronics
Booyco Electronics

Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.099 0.146s - 175pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now