Mantashe, a former coal miner and union leader, told chief executive officers of mining companies that their product shouldn’t be abandoned “prematurely” and highlighted that the industry employs nearly 90,000 workers in a nation with record-high unemployment.
“Where is our voice in this debate, I don’t hear you,” the minister said. “Every time you keep quiet I absorb that pressure. It would be more helpful for the industry itself to have a voice.” While richer nations have pledged $8.5 billion to South Africa to ditch its plans for new coal projects, rushing to end its dependency on the fossil fuel “will cost us dearly,” Mantashe said. Still, he urged mining companies to weigh investing in clean coal technologies that may prolong the use of the fossil fuel.
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