A STUDY and research into the coal belt in the Chris Hani region, which overlaps into neighbouring districts, is currently underway, in the hope of fully reviving the region’s economy through coal mining.
The Chris Hani Development Agency, whose mandate, among others, is to draw investors to the region, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chris Hani District Municipality and the Council for Geoscience.
One of the roles of the Council for Geoscience is providing integrated, systematic and thematic maps and conducting research on the onshore and offshore geology of South Africa to facilitate mineral, energy and agricultural development, contribute to the assessment and sustainable management of mineral, geohydrological and geo-environmental resources.
Musa Mabuza, CEO for Geoscience, said they were still studying the quantity and the quality of the coal and the impact the mining of the mineral would have on the environment and the economy of the area.
He said, contrary to the popular news that the coal was only available in Indwe, it goes beyond the Chris Hani region to the Joe Gqabi area.
“At this point I can confirm that the coal belt goes beyond the area that people were made to believe it’s on. There are even traces of it in Aliwal North; hence we need to do an in-depth research,” said Mabuza.
He said successful mining of the coal would bring about much-needed economic relief in the Eastern Cape as a whole.
“The quality of the coal does matter but still, even if it’s low grade there is a wide range of products that can be made from it.
“There is a process called coal liquefaction which in simple terms is the conversion of coal into liquid hydrocarbons, like liquid fuels and petrochemicals.
“The province will benefit immensely from this. Who knows, maybe we can see Eskom establishing a power station in the area – something which would draw many other businesses to the area and suddenly turn the Eastern Cape into a powerhouse,” said Mabuza.
Mayor for Chris District Municipality, Wongama Gela, confirmed that the study of the coal belt was the culmination of the visit of a Chinese delegation in the Chris Hani region in June this year.
He said there had been engagements about the revitalisation of mining in the region but there was never any action.
“This has been long coming but we finalised things with the recent visit by the possible investors from China, who showed a lot of interest in investing in the area,” said Gela.
The Chinese delegation that constituted high-profile businesspeople in the mining sector was led by the Mayor of Linfen City, Dong Yibing, who said they were looking to establish a sister city relationship between the two towns.
The parties signed their own MoU during the visit – a move which saw Yibing inviting Gela to visit Linfen City.
