JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Africa cannot afford fragmented voices any longer, South Africa’s mining and energy leading light Mike Teke pointed out in an address at the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, where he highlighted the need for greater regional collaboration.

Speaking as FutureCoal Africa chapter chairperson, Teke invited governments, industry, and investors across Africa to participate actively in the Africa chapter and to help shape a balanced, secure and investment-ready energy future.

Founding support for the chapter has been provided by industry leaders in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with its mandate extending to countries across the continent and its focus concentrated on coordinated engagement in technology, investment, energy security, and industrial growth.

While the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was welcome news, Teke noted that recent events had demonstrated how quickly global energy markets could be disrupted.

"The lesson for governments is not about a single shipping route; it’s about ensuring that countries have access to reliable domestic energy resources, resilient supply chains and secure industrial capacity. Energy security and affordability must come first, because without them, there can be no stable or sustainable transition," Teke explained.

Interestingly, he drew attention to the deployment of high-efficiency low-emission technology at Zimbabwe’s Hwange power station's units 7 and 8 as a practical example of sustainable coal stewardship in action, alongside rehabilitation work on units 1 to 6 and Zimbabwe's broader exploration of coal gasification and coal-to-x pathways.

Particularly noteworthy is that Hwange Power's expansion is underpinned by FutureCoal's sustainable coal stewardship framework, which provides a practical roadmap for responsible coal production, emission reduction, technology deployment and industrial development.

"The issue is not whether coal exists, but how it is produced, used and its negative impacts mitigated. Sustainable coal stewardship provides a practical pathway for responsible development. Africa has the resources, the capability, and the people – we must now act with coordination and confidence,” Teke advocated.

Teke, who is CEO and co-founder of Seriti Resources Holdings and the chairperson of renewable energy company Seriti Green, emphasised that Africa needed to position itself strategically within the changing global environment.