Minister Gwede Mantashe: Southern African Coal Conference 2026

McCloskey Senior Vice President, John Howland
Captains of the industry
Distinguished guests

It is both an honour and a privilege to participate in the 21st Annual Southern African Coal Conference.

This gathering is important not only because it brings together leaders from industry, government and the expert community, but because it focuses on a commodity that, despite facing significant challenges, remains a central pillar of economic growth both in South Africa and globally.

The fact remains that, despite its long history, coal continues to play a critical role in our economy. It is fundamental to addressing energy poverty across the African continent and remains indispensable in securing reliable baseload energy for the world.

In South Africa, coal contributes approximately eighty percent of electricity generation, underpins extensive industrial activity, and sustains around 90 000 mineworkers and their families.

At the same time, the sector faces growing pressure from environmental groupings and global decarbonisation trends, with some predicting the imminent demise of coal.

Reality, however, tells a different story. The International Energy Agency’s 2025 Global Energy Review indicates that global coal demand grew by 1.2 percent in 2024, demonstrating clearly that coal remains relevant.

Coal continues to dominate baseload power generation in countries such as China, India, Japan and South Africa. The construction of new coal fired power plants in these countries, together with sustained investment in Carbon Capture, Utilisation, Storage and Use, will extend the role of coal well beyond what many anticipate.

It is within this context that South Africa continues to invest in CCUS initiatives, including the project in Leandra, Mpumalanga, ensuring that we responsibly extend the life of our coal industry while utilising the resources with which we are endowed.

Our studies confirm that coal will remain integral to South Africa’s economy as the primary source of energy generation for many years to come. We are encouraged by ongoing investments in the sector, as demonstrated by recent developments such as Ikoti Coal underground operations, Seriti’s Naudesbank Colliery, and Arnot OpCo’s open cast operations.

As we confront the complex mix of challenges and opportunities facing the sector, the real question before us is not whether coal remains important, but how we extract greater value from it.

The coal value chain generates vast quantities of coal discards and coal fly ash. South Africa alone produces more than twenty five million tonnes of coal fly ash annually, yet less than ten percent is currently beneficiated. The remainder is stored in ash dumps, representing both an environmental liability and a significant unrealised resource.

Scientific evidence confirms that coal discards and fly ash contain strategically important materials, including rare earth elements, vanadium, alumina, silica, gallium and other critical minerals essential for batteries, electronics, construction materials and advanced manufacturing.

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.

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.

It is in this context that Mintek has initiated the Coal Reimagined Programme, a strategic intervention aimed at repositioning coal and its derived waste streams as a strategic national asset. This programme builds on Mintek’s long standing work in characterising South African coal, coal discards and coal fly ash.

Through this programme, we intend to transform a historical liability into an engine of economic opportunity, provided that appropriate investment is mobilised to move from research and piloting to industrial deployment.

The programme is designed to position South Africa as a global leader in coal beneficiation, waste valorisation and circular economy innovation, converting legacy coal waste streams into drivers of economic growth, job creation and environmental rehabilitation.

Over a five year period, integrated processing routes will be advanced to convert coal fly ash and discard coal into value added products including cement substitutes, geopolymers, aggregates, bricks, ceramics and road construction materials.

This work will require targeted investment in specialised infrastructure, pilot and demonstration scale facilities and partnerships with industry to enable scale up.

The programme is projected to unlock new revenue streams and support employment creation across construction materials, mineral processing, manufacturing, logistics and research.

The Coal Reimagined Programme demonstrates that South Africa can turn mineral legacy challenges into engines of inclusive growth. With appropriate support, it can protect communities, create jobs, build new industries and position coal as a platform for the future.

I thank you.

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