Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter on Monday stressed that the reliability of electricity supply was critical for the mining industry.
This followed an announcement by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe earlier in the day that government would make it easier for South African mining companies to generate their own electricity.
Baxter pointed out that the council's members were predominantly considering solar and diesel-solar hybrid projects, as well as some baseload coal capacity, to meet their needs.