Mantashe rallies coal producers to save industry despite growing climate change concerns

Mantashe rallies coal producers to save industry despite growing climate change concerns: Despite South Africa’s significant coal resources, there are “binding constraints” impacting on the future growth of the coal industry – an issue Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says is the coal mining industry’s issue to solve. Speaking at the Coal Colloquium, held at the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria on February 1, he rallied coal producers to band together in tackling constraints within the coal value chain; which, if left unattended, “will result in the stagnation and ultimately the shrinking of the coal industry”.

SEE RIGHT HAND COLUMN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON STOCKS AND SHARES FOR FEBUARY

1.MY SPECIALIST WATCHLIST

2 LARGE CAP STOCKS

3.MINING AND RESOURCES UPDATES  POST 9/2/2022, Pages number 1-14/2/2022 ,no, 2 - 14/2/2022 ,no3- 18/2/2022,  no4 -18/2/2022 

4 SMALL CAP STOCKS

Trending Energy Polluting updates

 Energy Polluting update and what should be done about it.

Then huge windmills also are scattered all over the country side spoiling the veiw in beautiful areas.

Intesresting to note that only about 4 % of the energy needed is at present to produce these awful tools come from windmill and solar power sources at present! Just think what a mess it would be to power up to the amount needed to actually produce all power needed by our over populated world.

The first option that is good is of course nuclear fuel,which also comes with its own dangers.These can be mitigated by limiting the amount and good placing. Not thought of yet is placing these underwater in the sea at stable sites.

Coal has done its thing by improving methods that are cleaner and require less water for cooling.

A non polluting wonderful invention is of course fuel cells for large stationary power stations which are feasible and several have already been built. Fuel cells can also be used for vehicles . Veiw many of my previous posts.

Hydro power has been used for many years so far. Not thought of yet is placing some  down river beneath an existing scheme where its not intrusive.

France has generators that use the tides at strategic locations. 

Talked about but not yet used is of course using the natural rivers in the oceans,such as the gulf stream.

Finally a no,no is lithium batteries which generally use spodium a rare earth mineral. Production of lithium batteries uses a great deal of electricity produced by conventional means.

NOW TRENDING OIL !

 Oil is now trending as surprising as this now sounds. 
 Oil has clawed its way back and it now is less volatile and likely to stay above $60 per barrel for Brent for the for see-able future. 
 The reason it would seem is that Saudi Arabia the leader in Opec has been able to curtail the amount of oil produced by the cartel more successfully than the former times when there was over production.

(Also visit... Bvians Abacus information 
Alerts... for comment on new ideas usually first discussed there)

Do remember it is likely to take another decade before alternate so called "clean energy " will start to diminish the use of fossil fuels and even longer to phase them out.
 Opec has now also consulted the shale producers and has pointed that its in every producers  interest to curtail oil production as a glut leads to not only falling prices,but large losses and companies going under. As we understand it there is no formal signed agreement between them but relies on mutual advantages at the moment.
 When the price falls too far there is no advantages for frackers 
either as now banks are adverse to lending them extra monies to continue their drilling as there is a social aspect as ground water does in some instances become contaminated.
 On the sidelines of course are deep water drills standing idle as this costs the companies billions of US Dollars. So they would not require a higher price to cover their debts.

SEE ALL THE UPDATES FOR THIS MONTH IN THE RIGHT HAND SIDE-BAR

RESOURCES THE WORLD NEEDS

Central and Southern Africa have many strategic minerals in abundance and are amongst world leaders in producing these.
South Africa produces over 72% of the Platinum used in the world
and 83% of the Rhodium for Catalytic converters and other industrial uses.
See rest of this article beneath Alerts and Notes
28/8  ALERT
Tensions are rising world-wide this morning as the Syrian crises is likely to spill over into
more bloodshed with the world powers taking sides.In South Africa we have serious trade union wars in a fight about turf escalating now.The more moderate NUM union has also upped its demands to compete with the more radical unions.Most of the demands now are completely unnatainable,which could bring our country to its knees.The mining of minerals is likely to decrease to a trickle and many mines would forced to close permanently.

9/8 ALERT
SOUTH AFRICAS gold and platinum production continues to decline,year on year.Figures are issued by the governments stastistical department.Bad news for labour and balance of payments.Gold the once dominant metal is down YOY on June by 14%.
Platinum Group Metals is down by 18%.Not good news for these labour intensive industries also bad news for our GDP.
Coal is now our number one export ,bringing the most money.Iron ore also brings more than Gold

3/8 ALERT
We are not the only country with a foreign exchange deficit it seems! India also is having problems at the moment.They have banned the import of physical gold to help balance their books.Soon they will only allow the import of gold that will exit in jewellery.As gold pays such a big part in their culture,this move has sent the price of their own gold sky high!
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NOTE 6 See Naomi's recource updates above in the index
Note 5 See international property update on 8/8/2013 above,"PART A"
Note 4. Whats happening to Naomi?....bnlifestyle10.  blogspot .com
Note 3 . See the NEW resource pages on large caps by Barry in the index above.
Note 2. Use the LABELS in the side-bar and at the bottom of articles to group subjects you might want to research.
Note 1 . Remember the newest updates are at the bottom of the index above.


According to the world bank and South African chamber of Mines last year over half a million people were still employed in the mining industry.We are also the fifth largest producer of gold ,also produce 47%of the worlds chrome used in super alloys,also a large exporter of coal and diamonds.
Our immediate neighbours sharing borders with us name Namibia is a large exporter of Uranium alsoDiamonds,Botswana diamonds and Mozambique coal and one of the few producers outside China of Rare earth minerals. In Central Africa there is the DM Congo that supplies rare earths such as tantalum,cobalt and also diamonds.

MAY UPDATES: COAL'S FUTURE ROLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

ALERT 16/5/2013
The supply of coal will have a positive effect upon the economies of Southern Africa, during this centuary and well into the next one.
Luckily we are well endowned with reserves in Southern Africa.
The new methods of working with coal gives a cleaner burn and the new lower use of water will keep this as the primary source well into the next centuary as coal burn power stations are more economical to build than nuclear power stations.
Our present  coal power stations are mostly  in the Mpumalanga province and are built on the coal fields.This coal is now likely to run out in about fifteen years time.Luckily we have vast reserves of all grades of COAL  in the LIMPOPO Province in the Waterberg range of moutains that are both in this province and the neighbouring country of BOTSWANA.
Since coal is supplied to Escom at a lower price it will be necessary to export at least one third of the better coal to pay for the costs of developing this coal field.
The government understands the value of this vast project.There for they are backing the building of new rail links to export and supply existing power stations.
This rail link is likely to extend into Botswana and to the nearest export port which is developed for coalexports,namely Richard's Bay.
These coal fields give themselves to mechanical means of extraction and therefore not require vast amounts of labour.Surely  EXX will probably gain the most traction from this venture?


ALERT 8/5/2013

PLATINUM GROUP AND GOLD MINERS have become "leaner and meaner" as time has gone on and have cut off all the wastefull methods they used in the past.The good news is they will survive.The prices of metals is likely to rise during wage negotiations in South Africa ,but later in this year fall back again.How ever the absence of new mines owing to the high costs and the falling of production in both the United States and South Africa will add to the demand side not meeting their targets.The price is then likely to increase  steadily from late next year onwards


NOTES
1. SEE NAOMI'S RESOURCE UPDATE ON 6,8 MAY.SHE THINKS SMALLER PLATINUM MINES ARE SHOWING THE FIRST GLIMMER OF RECOVERY.

The new year awakens !

Obviously we are going to try to avoid last years mistakes and do the right things to be very successful ,but just remember;
"The greatest mistake you can make in life ,is to be continually afraid that you are going to make one"  ELBERT HUBBARD.

ALERT 24 JAN TWO REASONABLY PRICED RAND HEDGES NOW WITH STRONG FLOWS OF INCOME. REDEFINE INTERNATIONAL(RIN),TRENCOR(TRE)

ALERT 10 JAN
RESOURCE SHARES ARE ON THE MOVE.THE PLATINUM PRICE IS QUITE RAPIDLY CLOSING IN ON THE GOLD PRICE.CHINA IS PROVIDING SUPPORT TO WORLD RECOVERY AND AMERICA IS SLOWLY RECOVERING.THE DEMAND FOR ENERGY AND OTHER MINERALS FUELED BY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IS RAMPING UP. IN DEMAND NOW IS PLATINUM AND COAL

1.The latest updates are mentioned at the BOTTOM OF THE INDEX LIST ABOVE

See Barry's latest comment on commercial real estate on part A real estate page on
the following blogspot
             and     also see Naomi's update of small resource shares  AND her first comment on technical  analysis Jan16

http://2010plusstocktrends.blogspot.com