Every Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly. Reported here is this Friday’s At the Coalface transcript:

Kamwendo: Clean, green renewable diesel is to be collaboratively produced in South Africa by three big corporations.

Creamer: Sasol, Anglo American and De Beers are going to collaborate to produce clean, green renewable diesel. This is absolutely thrilling and unexpected. From Sasol, of course, we know they are in fuels from coal, so they know the whole business of fuels. The mining companies have got land that can be used for agriculture and they have got access to used water sometimes dirty, but they can use it for agriculture.

They are going to come together and use plants called Solaris and Moringa, not very well known, to create vegetable oil. From that vegetable oil, Sasol will produce renewable diesel, that can be a clean ‘drop down’ solution for use in existing equipment because technically, the renewable diesel is the same as the normal diesel that comes from oil and gas, but this is 90% less emission creating. So, it is a major step forward even though it’s not going to be totally emission free like the green hydrogen is. Anglo American has already got a green hydrogen truck that has zero emission, but the renewable diesel comes pretty close, and it is going to be fantastic for South Africa's economy as well, to have the production of  green diesel right here in our country.

Kamwendo: Adding value to Africa’s metals and minerals in Africa was emphasised as a must at this year’s Mining Indaba..

Creamer: I've never heard it emphasised so much before, and it was just beneficiation, beneficiation and more beneficiation. It was so thrilling, because one of the speakers asked the members of the audience to put their hands on their heart and to pledge that they are going to add value to Africa’s metals and minerals in Africa, by Africa and for Africa.

Africa has a third of the world's critical metals and is also generating its own electricity from the sun, wind, and water. The rail side is developing and they say Africa must end the practice of people just digging the ore out of the ground, putting it on a train or truck and racing to the port. What is now a must is that the people of Africa must add value in Africa.

Kamwendo: An all-out effort will be made this year to make more money out of the manganese that is mined in South Africa.

Creamer: We are the biggest producers of manganese in the world, and we were the biggest producers of added-value manganese in the form of ferromanganese, but we lost that because of the high price electricity. Now, Menar again at the Mining Indaba, focused on this and wants to see South Africa go back to the higher-value beneficiated manganese and they are hoping for this to happen are this year, which they are turning into a year of value-adding focus.

Menar has bought a smelter in the province of Gauteng that has got four furnaces. Two of them are only 10 years old and were only used for five years. So, there is a relatively new smelting asset waiting to be restarted, along with rail and the energy. There is also some gas possibilities on site, plus renewable energy. Hopefully, we’ll see value  being added to our manganese again from this year.

Kamwendo: Thanks very much. Martin Creamer is publishing, editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.