In what could be considered a major policy shift, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has said that mining companies can produce electricity for their own use, without a permit or licence.
He was giving the opening address at the annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town yesterday.
Fin24 quoted him as saying: ‘These realities force us to take serious decisions. That’s why we have agreed that because we have problems with energy, we must allow our mining companies to create energy for self-use. You will not need a license for that, you just generate for self-use and you run ahead.’
Roger Baxter, the CEO of the Minerals Council, welcomed Mantashe’s announcement and said that there were a number of projects in the pipeline where mines could produce their own energy which could come online over the next nine to 36 months.