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: South Africa has all the credentials to develop its own hydrogen economy, Air Products has pointed out.

Creamer: You know, Air Products has been working here in gasses and in air for decades, and it spoke at the Green Summit and said what South Africa should focus on is getting ahead in green hydrogen in the domestic economy. We have been focusing on exports. And there is one big export project that's going to go through, by Hive, from Coega in the Eastern Cape, and that's very good. But, he says, if everybody starts exporting, they're going to start eating each other's lunch. We need to look at the domestic economy, and the market is there. Because wherever we use grey hydrogen - and we're using the grey hydrogen to a great extent - we can convert to green hydrogen, and should convert to green hydrogen, because it's a very important benefit for our pollution situation. And he's saying there are many areas big and small, that we can get into, and if we do that, we’re probably going to have a leg up when it comes to going into the export markets, and we could be in a market leadership position in green hydrogen.

Kamwendo: One of South Africa’s biggest copper companies this week opted for a huge long-term supply of solar power.

Creamer: This is a 12-year supply of solar power that is wanted by Palabora Mining Company, and we should look more at Palabora Mining Company. It's not listed in South Africa, but it's an incredible company. And when the word copper crops up, of course, we've got to lift our ears, because the world is wanting copper, and they also want clean, green copper, and that's why Phalaborwa Mining Company is going for green energy and sun energy at this point in time. We should also note that this company is very close to the Kruger Park, so it wants to actually be exemplary when it comes to clean energy. And at the same time, we should realize it is a producer of vermiculite. We often forget that vermiculite is in big demand around the world, which means that we also have the benefit of that being clean and green.

Kamwendo: Zambia is showing the rest of Africa how to create mining wealth with full openness for all its citizens.

Creamer: I had to take my hat off to Zambia - they've brought in this new EITI and that's the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative. Now I can remember, you know, a couple of decades back, the people who promote this Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, they got two influential people in South Africa to try and persuade the government of South Africa to adopt this, and the government did not adopt it. And I think it's very important to be fully transparent when it comes to mining and when the ‘extractive’ word comes in there that is mining and resources. And I am pleasantly surprised that Zambia has taken the lead. They've taken the lead in this to such an extent that they've also added a G factor to it. The G factor is good practice, governance, good government. And what they're doing is they are enabling ordinary citizens to just click in and find out exactly what wealth is being created by mining and where that wealth is going to. So if you are in a community, and you've got a mine down the road, you know what's happening to that money. And you also realise, you know, it's not all coming to you, of course, but the taxes are going to the government. And instead of having to read this across 300 pages or some of these elaborate reports, it's a one-pager, and you can see it there. And I think we should consider adopting it, because Zambia tell me DRC is going to do it, Mozambique is going to do it, Nigeria, but they haven't heard from South Africa yet.

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