South Africa Energy

It seems that every year in South Africa, newspaper headlines are filled with a pending shift in policy direction for the mining sector, but rarely with any results. In 2012 fears were of a populist-driven move towards resource nationalisation, which was subsequently quashed by President Jacob Zuma’s administration, while 2013 saw concerns over a new resources tax.

The case for developing solar energy in South Africa is a strong one. The vast majority of the nation’s interior terrain has an average insolation in excess of 5000 Wh per sq metre per day, while the annual 24-hour solar radiation average for the nation stands at 220 W per sq metre, compared to 150 W per sq metre in some parts of the US and 100...

The natural gas profile of South Africa shows an obvious imbalance. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the country produced 1.27bn cu metres of natural gas in 2011, but consumed more than three times that amount – some 4.5bn cu metres. Imports from Mozambique made up the difference between domestic demand and supply,...

With a history of making the most of its domestic energy resources, South Africa adapted its power stations to accommodate its plentiful but low-quality coal, and developed innovative synthetic fuel technology to replace imported crude oil during its years of economic isolation. Massive coal reserves, a successful nuclear power programme,...

The issue of labour has emerged as one of the most salient challenges faced by South Africa’s mining sector. In early 2012 wildcat strikes in Impala Platinum’s Rustenburg plant, the world’s largest platinum mine, ended in rioting and a six-week production stoppage that cost the company 3000 oz per day. By August unrest had spread to Lonmin’s...

In December 2012 the governing African National Congress (ANC) finally settled the issue of nationalisation of mines that had spread alarm through the sector for much of the year. “The issue of nationalisation as we have discussed during the past few months is off the table. The ANC affirms its historical position on this topic – strategic...