South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted that the country’s ongoing electricity crisis has had a significant and damaging impact on the mining industry, a crucial sector of the economy.
He made the statement while speaking at the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference, where the Minerals Council of South Africa estimated that total mining volumes decreased by 6% ($1.8 billion) last year, largely due to the power cuts over 200 days in 2022.
“The electricity crisis on its own has had a huge impact on the mining industry as it has had on other industries,” Ramaphosa said. “Six months ago, we announced the national Energy Action Plan to improve the performance of our existing power stations and to add new generation capacity to the grid as quickly as possible.”
The government has lifted restrictions on mining companies to generate their own electricity, allowing for the development of 89 renewable energy projects.
The Minerals Council of South Africa and the national treasury are working to accelerate the implementation of these projects.
The conference, which took place in Cape Town, ended on Thursday.
Source: The Heritage Times
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