MiningWeekly.com Audio Articles

Small diamond miners want to lock arms with all stakeholders through the South African Diamond Producers’ Organisation (Sadpo) to recover a large number of lost jobs and to realise the full potential value of alluvial diamonds.

“The role of Sadpo is to take on those big conversations and make sure that we not only have the right regulations, but also the right and the best relationships between the key stakeholders, not just government, but also that the big licence holders like De Beers are built in, so that we can grow the sector together and create jobs,” new Sadpo CEO Yamkela Makupula told Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video with introduction by Sadpo chairperson Gert van Niekerk.)

As has been reported by Mining Weekly, the average value of the mines in which Makupula is personally invested is around $3 000/ct and sometimes upwards of $3 000/ct.

Sadpo has regularly pointed out that alluvial diamond mining has the potential to uplift rural communities in some of the poorest parts of South Africa by creating much-needed employment along with wealth.

It is an organisation set on taking the burden of compliance, bureaucracy and organised crime off the shoulders of small operators to enable them to do what they know best – find diamonds.

There has been a 90% decline in the number of small South African alluvial diamond miners. In 2004, there were 2 000 of them employing around 25 000 people compared with the current situation of only 200 small operators employing 5 000 people.

Makupula spoke of most of the communities around the well-endowed Middle Orange River, for example, being doomed without alluvial diamond mining, which has a potential lifespan of another 100 years, especially in the West Coast, and contributes a reported 25% of diamond gross domestic product.

“We’re hoping with the new proposed policy that is coming from government that we can start looking into some of the quick wins,” Makupula said.

In the past few months, Makupula and Van Niekerk have been speaking to the key licence holders on the West Coast and found the biggest issue to be illegal mining.

“We've been on sites where you walk in with a licence holder who is not able to do anything,” said Makupula.

The licence holder would be with them but fearful because of the visibility of guns.

“It's organised crime that is affecting a lot of people who ask how they are going to enter this industry when it's that risky,” she said, adding that current bureaucracy results in it taking more than a year to go through a licence application process, at a cost of about R200 000, with no guarantee of operation owing to organised crime.

Mining Weekly: When will the sharp decline in small South African diamond mine operators be reversed from its lowly 200 operations employing only 5 000 people?

Makupula: We’re hoping with the new proposed policy that is coming from government that we can start looking into some of the quick wins. we need to be able to get to a point where the one blanket approach is no longer on the table. I'll just give you an example where Sadpo got involved with a previously disadvantaged individual who was actually looking for a mining permit on a 5 ha farm. When we looked into the process, we found that he had to pay R130 000 to get the licence. It took him 13 months to 15 months and that was with Sadpo involved on a day-to-day basis, assisting. That needs to go on the table. Our people don't have R200 000 odd that they can put up front before they even open doors. Those are the types of issues that we are having and that are now affecting the employment rate.

What steps are being taken to ensure that diamonds are recovered in a responsible manner that protects the environment?

Currently, I can safely say, from all the meetings that we've had with our members, that we are not using any chemicals to extract our diamonds. We have been very compliant from a health and safety perspective. Hence, you have not seen ...

It is a full year since the De Beers Group set itself a dozen far-reaching 2030 ‘Building Forever’ sustainability goals, which have as their four focus areas leading ethical practices, protecting the natural world, partnering for thriving communities and accelerating equal opportunity.

In partnership with the countries where it operates, De Beers Group has taken on the responsibility of protecting the natural world and improving the lives of people involved with a diamond’s incredible journey.

Building Forever reflects De Beers Group’s commitment to creating a positive lasting impact that will endure well beyond the discovery of its last diamond.

Building Forever involves continuing to work “tirelessly” to advance industry standards, enhance transparency of diamond provenance and improve the livelihoods of artisanal miners as well as partnering to improve health and education outcomes and increase livelihood opportunities to support community resilience and economic diversification in the group’s host countries of Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa.

The 134-year-old De Beers Group – an explorer, miner and marketer of rough diamonds with operations across the diamond value chain, including its retail brands De Beers Jewellers and De Beers Forevermark – is zealously committed to being carbon neutral by 2030.

In the next eight years, replacement of nearly all the fossil electricity it uses is planned. This will be done by building new wind and solar power plants and recovering remaining emissions through nature-based solutions, such as through the company’s recently-announced partnership with innovative start-up Kelp Blue, which aims to sequester carbon dioxide in large seaweed forests off the Namibia coast.

Alongside becoming operationally carbon neutral, it plans to halve its water footprint as well as achieve net positive biodiversity impact.

Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20 000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value.

In terms of the first focus area of leading ethical practices, achievements the Anglo American group company chalked up in 2021 included:

increasing capacity of its innovative diamond traceability blockchain platform, TracrTM, which now has the ability to register up to one million diamonds a week;

launching the pilot of De Beers Code of Origin, a consumer-facing trusted source programme;

bringing the first dedicated GemFairTM parcels of ethically-sourced artisanal and small-scale mined diamonds to market. GemFair is De Beers Group’s initiative to support the formalisation of the artisanal and small-scale sector; and

implementing a land reclamation programme in Sierra Leone to bring old artisanal mine sites back to productive farming use, supporting livelihoods and food security for local communities.

Under protecting the natural world, 2021 highlights were:

reducing energy intensity by 11%;

progressing a project to build a 60 MW solar farm at its Venetia mine in Limpopo;

launching Okavango Eternal, a five-year partnership with National Geographic to help protect the critical source waters of the Okavango Delta in southern Africa;

continuing to manage biodiversity and protecting threatened species across the Diamond Route’s 500 000 ha of protected southern African land; and

completing a strategy for addressing Scope 3 emissions in its global supply chain.

Achievements under partnering for thriving communities included:

supporting more than 2 600 jobs through enterprise development initiatives in southern Africa and supporting more than 18 000 students at 25 schools in South Africa;

commencing delivery of the partnership with National Geographic, which includes commitments to support the development of livelihood opportunities for 10 000 people across Africa’s Okavango Basin and help ensure water and food security for more than one million people;

pledging $6.8-million to support vaccine procurement and rollout...

Diversified miner and commodities trader Glencore said on Friday that its marketing division’s interim earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) will exceed $3.2-billion, which is the top end of its full-year guidance.

The company’s full-year adjusted Ebit guidance range is between $2.2-billion and $3.2-billion.

Glencore said its marketing business had successfully navigated the "extraordinary global challenges" faced during the six months, and continued to be a source of reliable commodity supply to customers.

Against an elevated risk backdrop, the marketing segment’s financial performance continued to be supported by periods of heightened to extreme levels of market volatility, supply disruption and tight physical market conditions, particularly relating to global energy markets.

“Clearly the marketing business has done well in this heightened period of volatility, although they expect more normal conditions for the second half,” RBC Capital markets analyst Tyler Broda said.

Unprecedented dislocation in energy markets in the year-to-date has resulted, at times, in record pricing differentials between the various coal benchmarks and quality categories.

Glencore’s industrial coal portfolio produces various quality specifications in three countries, destined primarily for seaborne thermal markets, but also for steel and domestic consumption.

Relative to the Newcastle thermal coal pricing benchmark, the coal portfolio mix adjustment guidance has increased to reflect these larger differentials and portfolio composition.

The company explains that its coal portfolio mix adjustment guidance is used to calculate an overall realised price for the group’s coal portfolio as a deduction against the Newcastle thermal coal price.

The full-year portfolio mix adjustment guidance of $32.8/t, which the company stated in February, is expected to increase to a range of between $82/t and $86/t for the first half of 2022, based on an assumed benchmark Newcastle thermal coal price of $318/t over the period.

In line with the higher coal prices, government royalties have increased significantly relevant to the February guidance, which, together with higher input costs such as diesel, explosives, logistics and electricity, are expected to result in an increased average free-on-board (FOB) thermal unit cost for the half-year to between $75/t and $78/t.

The FOB thermal unit cost guidance was originally set at $59.3/t for 2022.

RBC Capital Markets commented that the skews in various coal prices in various regions had been swung by the Ukraine war, meaning that there had been a much higher gap between region prices than normal.

“We had expected some of this at $63/t in the first half of the year, however, Glencore has guided a discount to benchmark of between $82/t and 86/t. Additionally, higher royalties and cost inflation will see costs at between $75/t and 78/t, which is slightly better than our forecast. This creates a net negative of $18.50/t,” Broda said.

Glencore is expected to produce 58-million tonnes of thermal coal this year, which should generate just under $8-million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

“We continue to rate Glencore as our only large-cap outperform recommended stock,” said Broda.

The High Court of South Africa has dismissed a challenge brought by Africa Wide Mineral Prospecting and Exploration (Africa Wide) against Platinum Group Metals (PTM) and Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) over their 2018 Maseve transaction.

PTM announced in 2017 that it would sell the concentrator and related surface assets owned by Maseve Investments 11 and the shares in and shareholder claims owing by Maseve to RBPlat for about $70-million.

In September 2018, Africa Wide, a subsidiary of PTM’s former empowerment partner Wesizwe Platinum, instituted legal proceedings against PTM, RBPlat and Maseve, seeking to have the transaction declared unlawful and invalid.

Africa Wide, which held 17.1% of the shares in Maseve prior to the implementation of the share transaction, contended the transaction required the consent of Africa Wide in terms of a shareholders’ agreement and the company’s memorandum of incorporation.

The High Court dismissed all the claims and ordered Africa Wide to make payment of the defendants' costs.

PTM indicates that the Maseve transaction occurred as a scheme of arrangement by way of two interdependent stages in accordance with Section 115 of the South Africa Companies Act. Under the scheme, Africa Wide was required to simultaneously dispose of its 17.1% interest together with the company's 82.9% interest in Maseve.

Stage one, being the sale of certain of Maseve's assets for about $58-million in cash, was completed on April 5, 2018. Stage two, being the sale of 100% of Maseve's issued shares to RBPlat in exchange for RBPlat common shares, was completed on April 26, 2018.

PTM noted that the statutory period to challenge the scheme under the Companies Act had expired more than five months prior to Africa Wide instituting legal proceedings.

In its ruling, the High Court found that Africa Wide had firstly failed to make its case on the evidence and secondly that, having failed to challenge the Scheme under the Companies Act, Africa Wide's case was statutorily barred.

“We are very satisfied to receive the judgment of the High Court in this matter. This is the second formal dispute we have been subjected to by Africa Wide, and we are once again comforted by the fair, methodical and just functioning of the South African judicial system.

“We thank our legal team and our co-defendants in this matter for their dedicated and professional actions. We look forward to continuing our focus on the advancement of the Waterberg project,” said PTM CEO Frank Hallam.

Africa Wide may apply for leave to appeal the June 14 judgment of the High Court until July 6.

Green hydrogen, when earlier identified as a necessary clean energy source to help the world achieve net-zero emissions in the coming decades, was higher up the cost curve than fossil fuels.

Now that has changed with this week’s Financial Times Hydrogen Summit emphasising that green hydrogen’s competitive price position, brought about by rising fossil fuel prices, is likely to be entrenched.

Envisaged is that renewables will create competitive hydrogen derivatives that can be transported, stored and used.

Green hydrogen protagonists are pointing out those who say putting in 100 kWh to get 70 kWh, or 60 kWh or 40 kWh out are inefficient, that the system's very low input costs more than cancel out all its inefficiencies.

The system envisaged is that every time prices drop to multi-hour low levels on low demand, excess power will be used to produce hydrogen and to store it underground, and every time prices rise on higher demand, it will justify the energy inefficiency of reconverting the hydrogen into power.

Trading in that band would take care of electrolyser and fuel cell inefficiencies.

This scenario was pointed out by TES CEO Marco Alverà, who is the former CEO of Snam, in conversation with Financial Times natural resources editor Neil Hume Financial Times during this week’s Hydrogen Summit, covered by Mining Weekly.

Alverà expressed the view that the European Union’s ambitious target of having 20 million tonnes a year of available green hydrogen by 2030 – ten domestically and ten imported – is achievable.

“The sun is there, the steel is available, the engineering talent is available. We just need to put the dots on the i’s and get these projects compressed and into execution mode,” Alverà said, provided companies like his own TES and others like it go forth with projects such as the one announced this week by bp.

bp is to lead and operate one of the world's largest renewables and green hydrogen energy hubs based in Western Australia.

“We need dozens of these big flagship projects,” he emphasised.

If such projects went ahead, then Europe’s targets would not only be achievable, but they would set the trajectory for the rest of the world.

That would be so because what the world would discover is that not only could security of supply concerns be allayed, but so could inflation-hit price concerns as well as globally visible climate concerns.

“We can address the three together by delivering some of these projects,” said Alverà.

“Produce electrons, use these electrons to produce hydrogen, merge that hydrogen with CO2 to produce synthetic methane and then we have a completely renewable product that’s based on electrons. It’s cheaper, it’s cleaner, it’s safer. We can make it wherever we have sun, so it’s a no-brainer. We just need to get out of the inertia of a business as usual mode and just get going with these projects,” he added.

Later Fortescue executive chairperson Andrew Forrest told the conference that he was particularly excited about wind power owing to wind towers being engineered with 80% less steel, less concrete, and no moving parts in the generator. In addition, solar panels were being reimagined.

“It’s a different world, it's a wonderful world, it’s a world that's opened a door to a pollution-free world, perhaps not for us, but if we work hard, for our kids, and that’s worth it,” Forrest said.

This week, Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks the new age battery metals potential in Namibia; the new green hydrogen partnership between Prieska Power Reserve and the IDC; and Volvo Construction Equipment’s first fuel-cell articulated hauler prototype.

JSE- and ASX-listed Southern Palladium will be undertaking a near-term exploration programme at its 70%-owned Bengwenyama palladium/rhodium-dominated platinum group metals (PGMs) project, on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex, in South Africa, following a successful capital raise and dual-listing on the ASX and JSE this month.

MD Johan Odendaal, speaking during an investor briefing and webinar on June 15, said that the company would be undertaking a two-year programme aimed at delivering a prefeasibility study (PFS) for a significant new PGMs mine.

The PFS would be followed by the submission of a mining right application.

He noted that, at the share price of June 14, the company had market capitalisation of A$56-million and an enterprise value of A$37-million.

The company has raised A$90-million and about 70% of the funding would go into the ground for exploration.

INVESTMENT CASE

Odendaal outlined that the project is in the right address with top-tier potential and with a single local community that is strongly supportive of development.

He elaborated that the project is in the heart of the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex, which contains about 72% of the world’s PMG resources; and is adjacent to other tier-one PGM and chrome operations.

Odendaal said the project has a favourable split, with the prill split currently weighted to palladium and rhodium revenue.

He also mentioned that the project is geologically straightforward, with consistent grades, and structurally simple.

He pointed out the project also contained a shallower, wide, but lower-grade Merensky reef, which could be mined on a mechanised basis.

Odendaal said that, therefore, the project presented a large, shallow advanced exploration or pre-development PGMs opportunity. He noted that shallow access allows for rapid development of a project.

Odendaal said this was one of the last remaining underdeveloped PGM projects to be developed from near to outcrop.

The project has an inferred Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 19-million ounces.

Moreover, Odendaal said that, with the exploration programme and PFS, there was the potential to increase this, with a total exploration target of 15-million to 34-million ounces.

The green economy presents considerable opportunities for the company with this project, Odendaal outlined, noting that global carbon reduction and internal combustion engine emission control has stimulated renewed interest in PGMs, with demand fuelling PGM prices over the past two years.

He added that PGMs have various applications in green hydrogen production.

In the immediate future, the company believes there is still a strong demand for internal combustion engine vehicles, after which it does anticipate a decline, but that decline in terms of vehicle demand will be taken up by the higher use of platinum and rhodium, Odendaal outlined.

Moreover, hybrid vehicles would also come into play.

“So all in all, we still see a strong platinum basket price going forward,” Odendaal said.

He also mentioned that the company had a management team with an “outstanding” record in PGMs, South Africa, mining project development and mining experience in place.

POSITIVE SURVEY RESULTS

Odendaal said the company had recorded positive results from geophysical survey and drilling at the project and had appointed a contractor.

A high-definition helicopter-borne total magnetic field gradient and gamma-ray spectrometry survey was completed at Bengwenyama, with data from this confirming a previous structural model of the upper group two and Merensky reefs, which forms the framework of the inferred mineral resource of 18.8-million ounces.

Moreover, imaging has confirmed the absence of anomalous (loss of reef) features in the target area for the Phase 1 drill programme.

The company said the confirmation underpinned confidence in the existing geological structure of the reef upon which the Phase 1 drilling programme had been planned.

A contract has been s...

Although the world’s top 40 mining companies demonstrated stellar financial results in 2021, it is unclear how long this record run can continue, since the industry is experiencing unprecedented change, says PwC.

The enterprise services and advisory company finds in its ‘Mine 2022’ report that the net profits of the top 40 mining companies globally rose by 127% in 2021, while market capitalisation grew by 7%.

These companies’ capital expenditures grew by 18% and dividends were up 130% in 2021.

The top 40 mining companies recorded a combined $159-billion in net profit in 2021, compared with a combined net profit of $70-billion in 2020.

Four South African-headquartered companies form part of the global top 40 mining companies, including AngloGold Ashanti, Sibanye-Stillwater, Gold Fields and Impala Platinum.

PwC Africa energy, utilities and resources leader Andries Rossouw lists the major influencing factors of the moment as being surging demand for critical minerals, increasingly difficult operating environments and rising competition from new players emerging.

“Success will hinge on whether or not the top 40 can take a leading role in the world’s clean energy transition and continue to generate significant stakeholder value.

“To do that, miners must use their strong current financial position to meet challenges including development timelines, price volatility, geopolitical risks, stakeholder expectations, economies of scale and economic resource scarcity,” he explains.

The shift to net-zero requires more mining, not less, with the rapid scaling of low-emission systems being highly material-intensive.

The International Energy Agency estimates that the annual demand for critical minerals from clean energy technologies will surpass $400-billion by 2050, which is equivalent to the annual revenues of the current global coal market.

The supply and price of input battery metals will have the greatest impact on whether electric vehicles will reach cost parity with traditional internal combustion engine-powered vehicles.

“Demand will significantly exceed the ability for miners to supply key metals such as lithium, copper and cobalt by 2040. The top 40 can play a leading role in the world’s clean energy transition and generate significant stakeholder value, if they use current capital gains efficiently,” Rossouw reiterates.

For example, some mining companies are moving down supply chains into value-added processes, such as Anglo American South Africa with its own-developed hydrogen fuel cell-driven mine haul dump vehicle.

Another emerging trend is that of original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end-users partnering directly with mining operations.

“We have seen a number of deals where big corporations are cooperating with the mining industry to secure supply for the future,” Rossouw explains.

He suggests that the top 40 miners review their exposure to critical minerals and materials for the energy transition; evaluate opportunities to own more of the supply chain and to partner directly with OEMs and local suppliers; incorporate low-emission technologies into operations to position as a preferred supplier for carbon-conscious end-users; and increase transparency into environment, social and governance (ESG) performance and stakeholder engagement.

Moreover, he recommends that these companies evaluate development models around shared infrastructure, potentially expediting development timelines and lower upfront capital costs, all while preparing for a more challenging and assertive push by regulators.

Meanwhile, the value of deals among the top 40 mining companies globally tripled in 2021 compared with 2020, while the number of deals increased by 60%.

Gold deal activity accounted for 70% of total deal value in 2021.

PwC Africa tax partner Laetitia le Roux says the top 40 deal value for critical minerals doubled last year and that the shift to net zero is not just creating opportunities in critical minerals, but also coal and iron-o...

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks not only help businesses and the communities in which they operate but can also generate positive returns as mining companies reduce operating expenses and receive favourable investor interest and cheaper finance.

When it comes to ESG, the cost of non-compliance with stakeholder demands could be substantial, as companies are at risk of losing their licences to operate. However, the good news is that ESG initiatives can pay for themselves and support profitability.

When implemented correctly, ESG projects not only improve stakeholder relations, but also yield considerable financial benefits almost immediately.

The right ESG projects could also attract cheaper forms of finance, making it easier to fund and allocate capital to such projects. Ultimately, these projects could boost a company’s ESG credentials, attracting investor interest and resulting in better valuations.

This is the view of Nedbank mining equity analyst Arnold van Graan, who notes further in an Op-Ed to Mining Weekly that most mines aim to reduce their carbon footprint by 30% by 2030 as part of the global decarbonisation drive, which would be achieved mainly through renewable wind and solar energy projects.

Several large solar projects have already come on stream to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and replacing diesel-generating capacity with gas or other lower-carbon alternatives has been another trend.

Although initially capital-intensive, ESG projects, he writes, yield cost savings for mines, helping offset the capital outlay amid energy being a huge cost driver that weighs heavily on the bottom line, as it accounts for 25% to 30% of direct operating costs.

Businesses also benefit from less downtime by moving away from traditional power grids often plagued by outages. As a result, most of these early-stage renewable-energy projects should generate strong returns that exceed the internal hurdle rates set by companies. These projects, therefore, do not just pay for themselves, they generate positive returns, Van Graan states.

2050 TARGET

In time, ESG strategies would mature further to meet the 2050 carbon-neutrality deadline set by many companies. This means moving even more of their energy sources away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources.

The size, scale and complexity of these endeavours in pursuit of net zero are expected to differ materially from the initial wind, solar and battery storage projects being rolled out to meet the 2030 targets. The capital outlay of these projects could, thus, be much higher, making it harder to generate the same level of returns seen up to now, Van Graan writes.

Yet, there would still be long-term benefits in terms of carbon emission tax reductions, which should offset the cost. In addition, technological advances and economies of scale should make these projects more efficient and aid the economics.

BROADER BENEFITS

Van Graan expresses the view that the benefits of meeting these ESG targets go beyond the metrics measured by traditional financial metrics. Mining companies realise that, collectively, sound ESG practices make for sustainable business. Communities, governments, and investors are more likely to support a mine with solid ESG initiatives in place. The benefits of this could be substantial, including higher valuations, he writes.

Investors and finance providers are beginning to understand and appreciate the link between a solid ESG implementation track record and a company’s financial viability. Just as a company with a good safety track record would inevitably have good operational and financial performance, one with solid ESG outcomes should deliver the same upside.

ESG could therefore play an increasingly important role in the broader capital allocation framework. According to Deloitte’s 2022 report that tracks ESG trends in the mining sector, companies are thinking more holistically, aligning their capital spending with ESG commitments. Compa...

Emerging green hydrogen company Prieska Power Reserve on Tuesday announced a partnership with the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to advance a green hydrogen project in Prieska, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.

The Prieska Power Reserve Project is described on the company’s website as being a catalytic project that will start producing green hydrogen and ammonia through a combination of high-yielding renewable solar and wind energy resources, along with the other natural resources of water and air.

Prieska Power Reserve’s energy expertise and the IDC’s investment platform and infrastructure financing have been connected to deliver technologies that produce green hydrogen and ammonia.

IDC approval of a facility will ensure that the project reaches financial close in the first half of next year for a journey that began in 2018.

The first phase will target the production of 72 000 t of green ammonia a year with a green hydrogen content of 12 900 t beginning in 2025 and escalating to over 500 000 t by 2030, the company stated in a media release to Mining Weekly.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the IDC,” said Prieska Power Reserve director Meta Mhlarhi, who is also chairperson and executive director of Black Energy Professionals Association, formed in 2017 to achieve radical economic transformation of South Africa’s energy sector.

“The dynamic combination of experience and talent has the potential to contribute not just to South Africa’s energy security through innovative sources such as hydrogen, but also the economic recovery and growth of our country,” Mhlarhi added.

PROJECT MILESTONES

The project has reportedly met a number of critical milestones to date in order to achieve its targeted financial close of H1 2023.

“Some of the completed milestones include the chemical plant, the wind, solar and microgrid feasibility studies, which indicate a huge potential for the project,” Prieska Power Reserve director Martin Walzer stated.

“The project is currently also in the process of finalising technical design work. It is through partnerships such as the one with IDC that we are able to further progress our work,” Walzer added.

The location and access to infrastructure allow for the delivery of competitively priced green hydrogen and ammonia to the global market, the release stated.

CONTRIBUTING TO SOUTH AFRICA’S GREEN ECONOMY

In recognition of the project’s national significance, Prieska Power Reserve has been identified as strategic in the Northern Cape’s Green Hydrogen strategy and has undergone the process of achieving classification as a national strategic infrastructure project, or SIP, which is awaiting gazetting.

“We look forward to creating jobs, and establishing and growing new enterprises, particularly for women and youth, to fulfil the increasing demand for this new industry,” was the comment of Prieska Power Reserve director Cobus Vermeulen.

Green hydrogen has been identified as a clean energy source that could help the world to achieve net-zero emissions in the coming decades.

Prieska Power Reserve, in the words of Prieska Power Reserve director Makole Mupita, will catalyse a collaborative approach between business, the province and national government in achieving the country’s hydrogen goal and positioning the Northern Cape as a hydrogen hub.

The initiative is described as being ideally positioned to become a major participant in the worldwide green hydrogen and ammonia markets. The project’s developer, Mahlako a Phahla Investments, is highlighted as a pioneering player in the South African energy space that has progressed from developer to investor over the years.