While it is good to see South Africa's government recognise that reliable and affordable power is holding back the country's economy with the mining industry one of the most affected, it is vital for the country as a whole that urgent action is taken sooner and that red tape is absolutely minimised.
During the week of the mining industry's major African mining investment showcase, Investing in African Mining Indaba, there was much discussion on the topic and the announcement by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe that a new power generating company will be formed separately from struggling state-owned utility Eskom to boost energy security are welcome.
However, details are still sketchy and it is difficult to see this having any real impact on power supply issues and costs for quite some time, perhaps even years.
Also of merit are plans by many mining companies to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on problematic Eskom by generating their own power from renewable sources.
For this admirable pursuit to have a benefi cial impact on miners and the country as a whole, it is vital that red tape be minimisedotherwise it will be more of the same for a long time.
Gold Fields has wanted to build a solar plant at its South Deep gold mine outside Johannesburg for more than three years but is stillwaiting for ministerial approval and a licence from the regulator to build a large generating facility.
Reuters reports that red tape has cost miners tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue over the past year, as blackouts have dentedtheir output at a time when they could have been generating their own power.
Power outages last December prompted some mines to close with President Cyril Ramaphosa pledging to ease regulatory curbs onself-generation but what is needed now is action, not words as Eskom has warned that power cuts could continue for the next 18months.
Gold Fields chief executive Nick Holland told Reuters: “Government must accelerate the approval of renewable power projectsplanned by miners so that they can deal with job-destroying tariff hikes and supply interruptions."
South Deep, one of the world's deepest gold mines, needs large amounts of power for cooling and ventilation and Gold Fields saysits solar project could provide a fi fth of the mine’s annual power needs for 20 years.
Read the full article in African Mining Network
