Minergy responds to coal demand
As demand for coal heightens on the international market, Minergy has announced that it remains committed to its regional markets and continues to supply into South Africa and Namibia.
Currently, the globe is experiencing a massive increase in demand from international markets, stemming from the Ukraine war and sanctions on Russia.
The development has come as a blessing to Minergy, as lucrative pricing has made once uneconomical logistics feasible. “This allowed Minergy to place additional product in new markets that were historically uneconomical.
“We continue to look for alternative markets and supply to Namibia is one such market as well as the ability to use their ports as export routes for seaborne thermal coal,” said Minergy Chief Executive Officer, Morne Du Plessis, this week. The CEO highlighted that the company’s key land export markets consist of 80- 90 percent that are bound for South Africa and Namibia, and a surge has occurred in its exports. “In the last three months however, sea bound exports increased significantly with international traders buying to export to Europe and the West,” he said, citing that the company does not have specific numbers because the final destination overseas is determined by the international traders who buy from the company. “We remain hopeful that this demand continues,” he added. With the country sitting over 200 billion tonnes of coal, Minergy says more local and foreign direct investment ( FDI) will be needed to fully exploit the country’s coal resource. In addition, the company says government should also simplify regulatory processes and promote ease of doing business. “Coal has unfairly been de- campaigned in the West as a ‘ dirty’ mineral which has swayed investors to look elsewhere for investment portfolios. With enough funders and investments in coal, the huge deposits can change our power fortunes and energy independence,” said Du Plessis.