‘King coal is back’, says Mantashe – The Mail & Guardian

Mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe. File Photo

Mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe declared on Thursday that “King Coal is back”, insisting that the fossil fuel remains indispensable to both South Africa’s economy and the global energy landscape.

Delivering the keynote address at the 21st Annual Southern African Coal Conference in Cape Town, the minister framed coal, not as a relic of the past, but as a critical driver of energy security, industrial activity and employment. 

“Despite its long history, coal continues to play a critical role in our economy. It is fundamental to addressing energy poverty across Africa and remains indispensable in securing reliable baseload energy for the world,” he said.

Coal powers roughly 80% of South Africa’s electricity generation and sustains about 90 000 mineworkers and their families, Mantashe said, noting how the sector faces growing pressure from environmental groupings and global decarbonisation trends, with some predicting its imminent decline.

“Reality, however, tells a different story,” the minister said, citing the International Energy Agency’s 2025 Global Energy Review, which showed global coal demand grew by 1.2% in 2024. This, he asserted, demonstrated quite clearly that “King Coal is back”.

Mantashe pointed to new coal-fired power projects in China, India, Japan and South Africa, alongside investments in carbon capture, utilisation, storage and use (CCUS) technologies, which will “extend the role of coal well beyond what many anticipate.”

South Africa itself is investing in CCUS, including projects in Leandra, Mpumalanga, to “ensure that we responsibly extend the life of our coal industry while utilising the resources

with which we are endowed”.

Recent domestic investments, such as Ikoti Coal’s underground operations, Seriti’s Naudesbank Colliery and Arnot OpCo’s open-cast operations, underscore the sector’s ongoing economic significance. 

“Our own studies confirm that coal will remain integral to South Africa’s economy as the primary source of our energy generation for many years to come.”

Mantashe also highlighted coal’s untapped potential beyond energy. The coal value chain generates vast quantities of coal discards and coal fly ash. 

South Africa alone produces more than 25 million tonnes of coal fly ash annually, yet less than 10% is beneficiated. “The remainder is stored in ash dumps, representing both a long standing environmental liability and a significant unrealised resource.”

Containing rare earth elements, vanadium, alumina and other critical minerals, these coal by-products could fuel battery, electronics and advanced manufacturing industries.

“Global demand for these minerals is accelerating rapidly. Our coal endowment, therefore, presents South Africa with a unique opportunity to meet this demand using secondary resources that are already mined, processed and stockpiled within our borders,” he said.

“Our response is clear: we must reposition coal as a critical mineral and a source of advanced materials, capable of supporting new industrial value chains.”

Central to this vision is Mintek’s Coal Reimagined Programme, a five-year initiative aiming to transform coal and its waste streams into economic assets.

The minister said that by converting coal fly ash and discards into products such as cement substitutes, geopolymers, bricks, and construction materials, South Africa could position itself as a global leader in coal beneficiation and circular-economy innovation.

Mantashe concluded with a challenge to investors and industry stakeholders: “With appropriate support, coal is not a problem of the past, but a platform for the future — one that can protect communities, create jobs and build new industries.”