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JSE- and LSE-listed thermal coal miner Thungela Resources recorded a 601% year-on-year increase in revenue to R26.28-billion in 2021, pushing it to a profit of R6.94-billion, from a loss of R362-million in the prior year.

The miner posted headline earnings a share of R66.57 for 2021, compared with a headline loss a share of R5.31 in 2020.

It has declared a maiden cash dividend of R18 a share, payable in May.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 3 389%, from R286-million in 2020 to R9.98-billion in 2021, while adjusted free operating cash flow increased to R3.92-billion in 2021, from a loss of R249-million in 2020.

As such, Thungela held R8.66-billion in net cash at the end of 2021, compared with debt of R388-million in 2020.

The improvement in its financial performance came on the back of Thungela being buoyed by the benchmark thermal coal price, which strengthened by 90% to $124/t, although the stronger rand offset some of the gains.

In addition, the discount to benchmark prices narrowed substantially from 26% in 2020, to 16% in 2021, resulting in higher realised coal prices of $104/t in 2021, up from the $48/t achieved in 2020.

Being primarily an exporter, Thungela’s revenue was positively impacted on by increased demand for high-quality South African coal.

Developing economies in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are on a path of recovery, post-Covid-19, and are experiencing an increased demand for energy, prompting those countries to source more coal.

Thungela did, however, record a 16% decrease in export sales to 15-million tonnes in 2021, as a result of disruptions on Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR’s) operations.

CEO July Ndlovu says Thungela is, nevertheless, committed to working with TFR, the government and the industry to resolve the transport issues experienced in 2021 and at the start of this year.

“We believe the challenges are transient and have planned our operational performance on a gradual, rather than an immediate recovery in rail performance. This is of national concern given that coal exports constitute one of the primary sources of foreign currency generation for South Africa,” he adds.

In terms of health and safety, the miner improved its total recordable case frequency rate to 1.35 in 2021, down from the 1.51 of 2020.

However, Thungela recorded a fatality at its Goedehoop operation in June 2021.

Meanwhile, the miner’s Khwezela colliery suffered a spill of mine-contaminated water into a nearby river system on February 14 as a result of an overflow from a disused shaft, which led into the mouth of the Loskop dam, a distance of about 60 km.

“The impact on the ecology was significant; however there were no livelihoods at risk,” says Ndlovu.

“We took immediate actions . . . ma[king] water in the river system safe for use as we speak. We are now in the process of developing a longer-term plan to mitigate the impacts on the ecology and return the . . . river system to what it was before this incident,” he says.

Once Thungela was alerted to the spill, it immediately implemented an operation to stop the flow and started work with the parks board and Department of Water and Sanitation on rehabilitation procedures. This required Thungela, at its own cost, to release water from the Bronkhorstspruit dam into the Wilge river and the Witbank dam.

“We continued to monitor the quality of the water and, within 24 hours of us releasing the water, the quality had [returned] to being safe.

“There is aquatic life that is beginning to show itself in the river systems; however, we are conscious of the fact that once [acid water is spilled] aquatic life [is destroyed] in a significant way,” says Ndlovu.

Subsequently, Thungela has hired experts to help it develop a plan to bring the natural water system back to its natural form in the future.

OUTLOOK

For the remainder of this year, Thungela expects a gradual rather than immediate recovery in TFR’s performance. It, therefore, p...

National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Monday urged heads of the world's Parliaments gathering at the 144th plenary assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to undertake all necessary efforts to deal with climate change through oversight and the constitutional powers of the institutions they lead.

Mapisa-Nqakula stated that in South Africa, Parliament supported the government’s view, articulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, on a green recovery for the country, and COP26's legislative prescripts of safeguarding the planet’s ecosystems by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global temperature increases.

“The hardest hit population groups are poor people. These are, in the main, inhabitants of developing countries who are predominantly farmers who depend on rain-fed and basic mechanisms for tilling the land and earning a livelihood.

"The only way their conditions can change is through policy shifts. Critical to this, is dedicated action on the part of policy-makers and the people who represent them, like legislators and members of Parliament. Great changes throughout history have been born out of crises − we should therefore not waste this moment,” Mapisa-Nqakula said, in recognising that tackling climate change had far-reaching implications for socioeconomic development, production and consumption patterns.

The plenary assembly is currently underway in Indonesia, Bali, where Mapisa-Nqakula is leading a multiparty delegation of senior members of the South African Parliament to the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly.

The theme of the 144th session is getting to zero by mobilising Parliaments to act on climate change and Mapisa-Nqakula enjoined the assembly to reflect on the the need to mobilise Parliaments to act swiftly in reducing its negative effects.

She described tackling climate change as having far-reaching implications for socioeconomic development, production and consumption patterns, and said it remained a serious global threat to national and international development.

Moreover, its impact had continued to exacerbate at a time when the world was still dealing with the aftermath of Covid.

The manner in which climate change affected people depended on location on the global map.

In addition to fighting climate change, the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union includes building strong democratic Parliaments, advancing gender equality, promoting human rights, contributing to peace-building, resolving conflict, fostering inter-parliamentary cooperation, promoting youth empowerment, mobilising Parliaments around the global development agenda, and bridging the democracy gap in global governance.

Besides Mapisa-Nqakula, the South African delegation includes National Council of Provinces deputy chairperson Sylvia Lucas, National Assembly House chairperson Cedric Frolick, ANC deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude, ANC MP Fikile Masiko, DA MP Dr Annelie Lotriet, and EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu.

The focus of ferrochrome company Merafe Resources in 2022 will be on renewable energy projects, along with efficient operations, cash preservation and well-ordered capital allocation, CEO Zanele Matlala said on Tuesday.

The year 2021 has been one of spectacular recovery for the Glencore Merafe Pooling and Sharing Venture.

In announcing its highest profit after tax since the formation of the venture in 2004, the JSE-listed Merafe provided new insight into the PGMs-from-chrome-tailings project at the Kroondal mine, and also outlined three distinct areas of green energy development involving:

the conversion of on-site offgas from the venture’s smelters into clean electricity;

on-site 'behind-the-meter' solar and wind projects capable of generating 150 MW of green electricity; and

the evaluation of quotations for the phased execution of up to 800 MW of virtual wind and solar power purchase agreements.

China continued to dominate stainless steel production, accounting for about 57% of global output. Ferrochrome demand in 2021 mirrored global stainless steel production, with Indonesia slightly decreasing China’s dominant share of global output.

World ferrochrome production increased by 15% to 14.4-million tonnes, with most of the production growth coming from South Africa (32%) and India (30%).

Chrome ore imports into China increased by 5% to 15-million tonnes, with South Africa making up 80% of the chrome ore sold into China.

The average ferrochrome prices received in 2021 were around $1.08/lb compared with $0.72/lb in 2020. Chrome ore prices, on the other hand, only increased modestly, with upper group two prices averaging about $140/t, compared with $129/t in 2020.

Merafe FD Ditabe Chocho reported a 75% year-on-year increase in ferrochrome revenue and a 33% increase in chrome-ore revenue.

“We also accounted for small revenue arising from PGMs concentrate sold from December 2021,” said Chocho.

The processing plant being built to recover PGMs from chrome waste has a capacity of 21 000 t a month.

To date, R32-million has been spent on developing it and a further R23-million is due to be spent this year to take the plant to completion.

The PGMs concentrate it produces is being sold to PGMs customers that have smelting capacity.

“We believe the PGMs plant will be fully commissioned in quarter two. We’ve started to treat material and we are seeing benefits from that,” said Glencore Alloys CEO Japie Fullard, who declined to give the grade of PGMs produced.

“We do have an offtake. You will understand that the chrome content in the PGMs concentrate is fairly important and we do have an agreement with a PGMs producer that we are selling that product into the market,” he added.

Chocho reported that the financial return on the PGMs project would be sufficiently higher than Merafe’s weighted average cost of capital of 11.4% after tax, with a four-year payback based on current pricing assumptions.

DECARBONISATION IMPORTANT

Fullard described the reduction of Scope 2 emissions specifically as being “very important”.

Agreements had already been signed with suppliers for the conversion of on-site offgas into electricity, Fullard said in response to Integrated Managed Investments portfolio manager Leo Altini.

With pilot circuits being run, the operation was well on its way to achieving the best efficiencies in the turning of carbon dioxide to electricity.

“That’s the first focus area for us and there’s a lot of work we’re doing there,” said Fullard during the question session covered by Mining Weekly.

Capital investment in the second behind-the-meter solar and wind project greening area would commence within the next year, and quotations were being evaluated for the various virtual power purchase agreement contracts, for which multiple financial instruments were under consideration.

It was reported that Rustenburg smelters Furnace 5 is back in operation while the Lydenburg smelter remained on care and maintenance.

The foreseen benefits of develo...

Diamond mining company Debmarine Namibia on March 18 officially inaugurated its latest diamond recovery vessel, christened on the day as the Benguela Gem (previously the AMV3), at the Port of Walvis Bay, Namibia.

Debmarine Namibia is a joint venture marine diamond and prospecting company owned by the government of Namibia and De Beers. The Benguela Gem will form part of the fleet operated by this 50:50 partnership.

This custom-designed vessel is the most technologically advanced and sophisticated of its kind, CEO Otto Shikongo acclaimed at the inauguration.

He explained that the name pays homage to the Benguela Current, which is responsible for Namibia’s marine riches, and that the aim was for this vessel to recover high-quality diamonds that would benefit and nourish the country in similar vein, in a way that respects the environment and protects the crew.

Shikongo said the completion of this project marked the culmination of over six years of planning and was delivered three months ahead of deadline.

Moreover, this planning goes back even further, to 2017, when the SS Nujoma vessel was launched. Shikongo said the SS Nujoma delivered an “exceptional” performance in its first year, following which the company approached the idea to the board of building a new recovery vessel.

Following rigorous testing and a lot of planning, in May 2019, Debmarine Namibia approved building of this bespoke new vessel.

Building the Benguela Gem carried on throughout the pandemic, despite the difficulties this posed.

Moreover, the company had to manage operational aspects such as training the young men and women who would operate and maintain the vessel, he said.

The building occurred at the DAMEN shipyard in Romania, before heading from there to Walvis Bay for the inauguration, via Cape Town. The Benguela Gem was built with parts from 27 different countries, with some of the steelwork fabricated in Walvis Bay, in Namibia.

Shikongo highlighted a notable feature of the vessel as its dynamic positioning system, which uses learnings to automatically optimise the vessel’s performance to changing weather conditions to minimise energy use.

Notably, the Benguela Gem boasts an environmental green passport, which Shikongo said showcases the it was designed to the latest and highest environmental standards - “making her the most environment-friendly vessel of its kind”.

It is also recyclable at the end of its life.

Shikongo noted hat N$10-billion was invested into making the vessel a reality, with the project delivered 17% below budget. He also thanked the four Namibian banks that got together to financially back the project.

He described the vessel as the largest diamond recovery vessel ever built, as well as the largest registered Namibian vessel, at just over 19 000 gross tonnage.

With a design life of 30 years, the vessel would contribute 30 years to the diamond industry and the Namibian economy, Shikongo acclaimed, citing the diamond industry as the largest contributor to the country’s foreign direct earnings and private sector taxes.

The vessel is expected to contribute N$3-billions a year to the Namibian economy.

Moreover, Shikongo said that in the Benguela Gem’s maiden recovery operation in Atlantic 1, where Debmarine mines, the Benguela Gem recorded 103 hours non-stop operation at nameplate capacity, recovering 30 000 ct before stopping the operation for a scheduled import to address punch list items.

“This is what I call perfection in project management,” enthused Shikongo.

The vessel is expected to add an additional 500 000 ct of high-quality diamonds to yearly marine mining production.

Moreover, 160 highly skilled jobs are slated to be created.

Namibia President Dr Hage Geingob, delivering the keynote address at the inauguration, lauded this milestone as an "unbelievable investment” and a stellar example of private sector and government partnership.

Also present at the event was De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver, who acclaimed that the symbio...

The mining industry must work harder on implementing human rights programmes to prevent the exploitation of unhappy communities for narrow self-defeating motives, Minerals Council South Africa senior executive Tebello Chabana commented during a Human Rights Dialogue on March 17.

He noted that South African communities had been “stranded by failing and failed local governments”, which had created a “hotbed for discontent that is easily stoked by unscrupulous third parties”.

Richard Spoor Attorneys associate Johan Lorenzen noted that communities were looking for “basic recognition” and cautioned that “the more they are disrespected, the more communities get radicalised.”

He pointed to the fact many communities have gone to court over, among other issues, a lack of free, prior and informed consent, which arose from a lack of adequate consultation with mine-affected communities.

“We're seeing a Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) that is less and less interested in protecting community rights.” He said the actions of the DMRE, in granting mining rights without looking at the consultation process and without moving towards free, prior and informed consent, blocked off an avenue that empowered all parties to reach reasonable agreements in advance.

Such an avenue would ultimately derisk the investment, while protecting basic human rights.

Lorenzen said both the State and the industry should consider the environment they were creating when ignoring communities. He noted that there had been increased complaints from mining companies about “mafias” trying to benefit from mining contracts.

“Certainly, this is the case and it's certainly wrong. But communities who partner with these so-called mafias do so because they feel that this is a remedy available to them in the absence of remedies provided by mining companies.”

He noted that the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights envisaged companies enabling remedies to human rights abuses and other challenges through grievance and other mechanisms.

“Access to remedies is one of the central principles in the Guiding Principles,” Lorenzen said.

Further, he stressed that, while changing expectations and scrutiny from society on corporate practices had resulted in increased litigation as a means of enforcing accountability, “litigation is incredibly expensive and can only be accessed by a select few”.

He stressed the need for active mechanisms that did not require the use of courts. “We shouldn't need lawyers to provide remedies for communities, because in my experience, communities are incredibly reasonable.”

Lorenzen stated that industry must internalise the Guiding Principles and should look to changing its approach, as the tools and mechanisms used to successfully manage a mining operation are not necessarily useful in addressing human rights issues and community engagement.

Further, the structural issues that are deeply entrenched in South African society would not be solved with a ‘project-management approach’.

“Every day, I deal with good, moral and righteous people in the mining sector. But the [challenge], for my clients, isn't about whether there are good or bad people engaging with them, it's about what structures we set up to create a more just world.”

He agreed with Chabana that companies were increasingly being asked to ‘step up’ their human rights recognition and protection, and that this was “principally a product of the failure of the State”.

Lorenzen added that it was not sustainable to ask companies to lead on protecting rights. As such, he noted, “we are collectively calling on the State to protect human rights so that we eliminate a race to the bottom for companies and force them to compete on a level playing field where human rights are respected across the board. That can only be done if we are all standing up and demanding that the State does its job.”

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

On the issue of holding the State to account, Cape Town Arch...

Diversified mining and marketing company Anglo American has signed a memorandum of understanding with global renewable energy company EDF Renewables to work together towards developing a regional renewable energy ecosystem in South Africa.

The regional renewable energy ecosystem is expected to be designed to meet Anglo's operational electricity requirements in South Africa through the supply of 100% renewable electricity by 2030.

This partnership supports the resilience of the local electricity supply systems and the wider decarbonisation of energy in the country, the London- and Johannesburg-listed company stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

Anglo has already secured 100% renewable electricity supply for all its operations in South America, resulting in 56% of its global grid supply expected to be sourced from renewables by 2023.

In South Africa, while there is an abundance of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, there is limited renewables infrastructure to harness it, the company noted.

As Anglo progresses towards its 2040 target of carbon-neutral operations, the partnership with EDF Renewables is designed to abate the largest single source of its Scope 2 emissions, being its current grid supply in South Africa. The regional renewable energy ecosystem aims to support South Africa's decarbonisation ambitions and the country's just energy transition, creating a sustainable and inclusive future.

The regional renewable energy ecosystem will draw on South Africa's natural renewable energy potential to develop a network of on-site and off-site solar and wind farms, amongst other opportunities, while offering 24/7 renewable energy to Anglo's operations.

Anglo American anticipates that a number of partners will provide equity financing for the regional renewable energy ecosystem, in addition to the system attracting debt financing that is typical for high quality energy infrastructure projects.

The benefits the partnership is expected to bring to South Africa and the region, include:

implementing 3 GW to 5 GW of solar and wind renewable electricity and storage over the next decade, thereby increasing total grid supply resilience;

supporting the decarbonisation initiatives of governments across Southern Africa; and

stimulating the development of new economic sectors, local production and supply chains.

Anglo CE Mark Cutifani described the announcement as a further major step towards addressing on-site energy requirements, which are the largest source of the company’s operational emissions.

In addition to addressing Anglo’s Scope 2 footprint in South Africa, Cutifani said the partnership complemented the company’s FutureSmart Mining™ programme's abatement of its Scope 1 emissions through low- and zero-emission technologies, including the hydrogen haul truck system, and the development of South Africa's Hydrogen Valley.

“Step by step, we are changing the very nature of mining and how our stakeholders experience our business, while supporting a just transition," Cutifani added.

EDF Renewables chairperson and CEO, and group senior executive VP renewable energies Bruno Bensasson expressed delight at being able to take a step forward with Anglo towards what he described as an ambitious partnership.

“We are committed to supporting industrial players by providing low carbon competitive electricity that substitutes fossil energies and improves wider social and environmental issues.

“This project is also contributing to the country's energy ambition of furthering the development of decarbonised energy,” stated Bensasson in noting its alignment with EDF Group's CAP 2030 strategy, which aims to double its net renewable installed energy capacity worldwide – hydropower included – from 28 GW in 2015 to 60 GW in 2030.

Anglo's management board chairperson in South Africa Nolitha Fakude said South Africa was embarking on the next phase of its economic development, with clean, reliable and affordable energy playing a critical role in...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Fortescue Metals Group’s Andrew Forrest's call for energy sovereignty; Seifsa urging the metals sector to take advantage of the Steel Master Plan opportunities; and the comparison of mine-linked Solar PV power projects with the Koeberg nuclear power station.

The growing use of surveillance technologies, drones and wearables has serious implications for employees’ and individual's rights – to privacy, for one – which civil society and the private sector have yet to fully explore, diversified major Anglo American international, government and sustainability relations group head Froydis Cameron-Johansson has said.

Speaking during a Human Rights Dialogue hosted by the Minerals Council South Africa on March 17, she outlined themes and trends that had emerged post-Covid, including the restriction of civic freedoms, violence and harassment, low-carbon transition risks, corporate accountability and litigation, increasing expectations, labour rights, and technology and human rights.

She pointed out that drone adoption in the mining industry had increased by 198% between 2017 and 2018 alone and cited the increased use of artificial intelligence and wearables to monitor employees’ behaviour and record health-related data.

This, combined with the introduction of various ‘track and trace’ applications adopted by organisations and governments to combat the spread of Covid-19, has created an environment where companies and governments have access to personal information that can be exploited, if these actors do not respect basic human rights.

“Everybody has a phone. You're going onto an app, it asks you for all this personal information that you probably wouldn't ever give a stranger, except you're just [sending] it into the Metaverse, so to speak.”

Cameron-Johannsson explained that, over the last two years, this dispensing of personal information “exploded exponentially”, because of Covid-19. She noted that, before the onset of the pandemic, the notion that the general public would willingly allow the government to track their everyday movements was laughable.

“But here we are with our iPhones.”

She commented that she does not believe civil society as a collective has truly grasped data and the implications of data surveillance, or what it all means from a rights perspective.

Further, she remarked that, while it was “incredibly valuable” to have track and trace applications and technologies to manage the pandemic response, “it’s a huge risk now to human rights, to the right to privacy, to the right to not be surveilled all the time”.

“The interesting thing will now be in countries where they instigated a lot of surveillance; what happens now? Do they roll those back? Are people just used to it? How is this now going to work?”

She also stressed that the implications of using these technologies, particularly in terms of respecting and safeguarding rights, had not really been explored in their entirety, from a mining perspective.

“There are a lot of wearables. We use them for monitoring in terms of health and fatigue monitoring, as well as speed monitoring. But how then is that data being used? Even simple things like storing vaccination records under the General Data Protection Regulation rules is very, very difficult. So how do we balance those health requirements to keep people safe, [while] ensuring the right to privacy as well?”

With regard to drones, she mentioned that, aside from being used for mapping and geosciences, they can also be used for security and monitoring. She stressed that the fact that drones record activities on and around the mine licence means that companies must be “very mindful” when creating privacy policies with respect to video capabilities, as well as when engaging people that are affected.

University of Johannesburg Professor Shafika Isaacs commended the dialogue for raising the topic of digital justice and cautioned against the “dominant evangelical narrative around the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)”.

Isaacs noted that there was an erroneous perception that the 4IR is “going to save us”, and that many stakeholders look to technology and the 4IR as a panacea; that if everybody had access to the Internet, that would solve problems ranging from a lack of compe...

Titanium dioxide miner Tronox KZN Sands’ Fairbreeze mine, near Richards Bay, in Kwazulu-Natal, is planning to start a new development phase to extend the mine’s life.

Speaking to Mining Weekly on March 17, Tronox KZN Sands Fairbreeze mine site director Shalen Poorun said work on the new development was expected to start later this year, initially as an 800 t/h operation but with the aim of ramping up to 2 168 t/h by mid-2023.

With new developments factored in, the life-of-mine will be extended to 2037.

Poorun said continuous work was under way to quantify additional reserves.

In 2015, mining began on the northern side of the Fairbreeze orebody. At its inception, production was planned for six years and is, therefore, nearing depletion.

The primary mining method at the Fairbreeze mine remains hydraulic mining. As the mine begins mining the southern orebody, the throughput will be increased by more than 80% against the backdrop of falling grades. This will allow the mine to maintain feed to the smelting facility at Empangeni.

The new expansion project will include an upgrade of the current mining system and the mineral concentration facility.

Poorun said Tronox was busy with the backfilling and rehabilitation of the Northern portion of the mine, having already completed the backfilling of the C orebody – the first orebody mined at Fairbreeze.

So far, about 50% of this orebody has been rehabilitated to indigenous grass, while final shaping and rehabilitation on the remainder continues. In addition, backfilling has begun on a portion of the C extension orebody where mining is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.

The initial portion of the orebody previously mined is currently under rehabilitation in line with the mine’s environmental management plan. Soil coverage by vegetation on the rehabilitated area is in excess of 50% over much of the area, successfully limiting the erosive effects of stormwater runoff, Poorun explained.

“These activities are currently executed, tracked and monitored against the environmental management plan to ensure sustainable post-mining land use,” he said.

Backfill and rehabilitation is undertaken in conjunction with the ongoing mining activities, thereby keeping the mining footprint to a minimum.

“Undertaking continuous rehabilitation alongside mining operations presents various complexities, such as positive and ongoing water ingress into the mining area. It presents safety and technical challenges,” Poorun noted.

In light of this, Tronox has established bespoke methods to manage such ingress which includes significant investments in major infrastructure to control and divert the water away from the active mining areas, he concluded.

Let’s give energy sovereignty to the world. Renewable energy is everywhere. Every country can produce it. Now is the time to capture it, and have full energy freedom, enthused Fortescue Metals Group nonexecutive chairperson Andrew Forrest, while being interviewed by CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour.

“The world does have a choice. It's green energy, green ammonia, and green hydrogen. These are all made from renewable electricity and can answer 100% of the global economy's energy needs. Now's the time to kick it in,” urged Forrest, who was interviewed while holding green energy meetings in North Africa.

His own Australian mining group is setting out to be fully green by 2030.

In his view, now is the moment when everybody who is interested in renewables and green energy is able to set the agenda.

The time is right to adopt a practical implementable solution, he said, while noting that emission-free fuels can be made in enormous quantities by virtually all countries, to satisfy energy demand, and at the same time combat global warming.

He acclaimed the European Union (EU) nations for setting out to source 100% of their energy from renewables by 2035.

“I fully applaud the progress of the EU and the direction of the EU. I applaud the Government of Germany; I know how difficult it is for my company to go green. We've had to invent ship engines, train engines and truck engines. We've had to make technical breakthroughs everywhere, just so we can get our company completely green by 2030.

“EU countries have given themselves only another five years. This is a Herculean effort, but they're determined to do this, and we’re determined to support them,” said Forrest in response to Amanpour.

He also drew attention to Saudi Arabia, which was being visited by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while the CNN interview was under way, going full tilt into renewable energy and green hydrogen.

He said his discussions with Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates pointed to both countries seeing a new green future unfolding before them, and both wanting to play intense roles in generating renewable energy and producing green hydrogen.

He also highlighted the fact that virtually every country in the world has the potential to become a green energy generator, owing to the ubiquity of sun and wind.

“I see fascist fossil fuel in most places I look, and now's the time to stop it,” said Forrest.

Carbon Brief Daily reported on Thursday that Johnson had let it be known that Saudi Arabia would be announcing a £1-billion investment in Teesside, in the north of England, to produce green aviation fuel.

GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS IN EASTERN CAPE, NAMIBIA

As reported by Engineering News & Mining Weekly in January, Hive Hydrogen and Built Africa – together as Hive Hydrogen – as well as Linde plc, through its wholly owned South African subsidiary Afrox, have teamed up to establish a green ammonia export plant in Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape.

The first phase is planned to go live in 2025, with full operation by the end of 2026.

The proposed 780 000 t/y, $4.6-billion green ammonia plant – with its own dedicated green power supply at the Coega Special Economic Zone alongside the Port of Ngqura – is a significant South African response to the world’s need for green solutions to limit the devastating impact of climate change and to deliver on COP26 commitments.

The renewable energy and energy storage component alone will be substantial.

Former Eskom CEO Thulani Gcabashe, as chairperson of Hive Hydrogen South Africa and executive chairperson of Built Africa, expressed Hive Hydrogen’s delight at bringing what he described as a landmark green ammonia project.

“This certainly heralds a new era for the country in its commitments to greener solutions for industry. The pure scale of the project and the clean technology being used is truly remarkable,” Gcabashe enthused at the time.

In December, the government of Namibia announced the selection of HYPHEN Hydrogen Energy as...