SA mining sector to benefit from renewable-energy drive

According to BDLive, the SA mining sector stands to benefit from the global move towards renewable energy because the country produces a number of the minerals on which that industry relies.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted this year that global power generation from hydropower, solar, wind and other renewable sources will increase by more than 40% to almost 6,400 terawatt hours - roughly one-and-a-half times the current US electricity production - over the next five years.

In a series of discussion documents on mining and sustainability, the council said that the trend of mine production moving to the emerging economies will continue, while African production grows. "African production will grow," the council says - "the region accounts for 10% of today's production and 15% of investments signalled by the project pipeline." Frost and Sullivan's energy & power division head, Cornelis van de Waal, told BDLive that South Africa had reserves in several of the minerals and metals the renewable energy sector needed.

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