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Coal will be part of Africa’s energy mix for foreseeable future – African Union

Mining Weekly Online’s Martin Creamer at Junior Indaba with African Union chairperson Dr Nkosasana Dlamini Zuma. Photographs: Duane Daws. Video: Nicholas Boyd. Video Editing: Lionel da Silva

17th June 2016

By: Martin Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

  

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Coal will be part of Africa’s energy mix owing to its availability, cost advantage and ability to generate much-needed electricity, says African Union (AU) chairperson Dr NkosazanaDlamini Zuma.

Zuma, who was speaking to journalists during a media conference, at the recent Junior Indaba, in Johannesburg, in which Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly participated, makes it clear that coal will play its part on the continent, in spite of the global trend to move to alternative sources of energy, given its cost.

Her view is that it would be unrealistic to expect Africa to develop without using coal.

“It’s there, it’s cheap, it can be used to generate electricity,” she emphasises, adding that it behoved the continent to use what it had to industrialise.

“But, of course, as the technology for solar power and wind energy becomes cheaper, we must increase that component of electricity generation. Hydro is clean energy and we must also use that.

“But, in the foreseeable future, coal will be part of the energy mix. I don’t think it should be the sole source of energy, but it will be part of the mix,” she insists.

Nigeria is targeting 30% coal-based electricity and investment is being invited in exploration for coal in the West African country.

Mining Weekly can today report that the AU is to launch an African Minerals Development Centre in an attempt to ensure that African governments are better equipped to negotiate better mining and exploration terms and contracts.

Through the centre and its related mooted African commodity strategy, Dlamini Zuma hopes to change mindsets and to increase the value-add to Africa’s natural resources from 15% to at least 30%, which she expects will facilitate the creation of at least seven-million jobs on the continent in its first year of implementation.

In order to implement this strategy, Dlamini Zuma called on the mining and education sectors to invest in much-needed skills, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

 

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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