300-year headache that could fuel or finish SA's economy

Mpumalanga is sitting on coal deposits estimated to last three centuries. Yet, global pressure to decarbonise is forcing the government into a corner: burn the coal and risk the planet, or shut the mines and risk livelihoods, resulting in former mine-workers relying on the state for sustenance.

- By Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

This was the stark reality laid bare at the Mpumalanga Investment and Mining Conference in Middelburg this week, where political heavy weights, mining bosses and investors debated how to manage the province's mineral wealth without suffocating the environment or its people.

Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reminded delegates that coal was far from a relic.

"Mpumalanga has 300 years left of coal deposits. Once we invest in their exploitation and their mining, they become the resource. Coal has been designated as a strategic mineral."