PETER BRUCE: Eskom, throw this idea at the wall and see if it sticks
We have the technology to turn coal slurry into a usable briquette form that will allow us to supply all of Eskom’s coal requirements for about 17 years
I’m going to keep this short but, given the row about moving Eskom from the department of public enterprises to minerals & energy, I have some actual facts worth throwing into the debate. Well, in truth, there is no debate, just some political posturing. You cannot move Eskom to energy because it is a coal-fired monopoly and minerals & energy is there to diversify our sources of fuel for a cleaner energy future. A move, in the highly unlikely event it were ever to happen, would probably be illegal.
But I wanted to write something especially for minerals & energy minister Gwede Mantashe and the trade unions agitating against the energy policies adopted by the present government. And for the new Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter. It is one final column from me about coal slurry and the crying shame that we have enough to supply all of Eskom’s coal requirements for about 17 years (at current burn rates) without digging up another single rock of it. And we have totally ignored the opport...
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