South Africa Expands Coal Mine to Feed Power Station for Years
High voltage electricity transmission pylons alongside the Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Matla coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergSouth Africa’s Exxaro Resources Ltd. opened the expansion of a coal mine at its Matla operations that will keep a nearby power station supplied for nearly two more decades.
The miner signed a contract last month with state-owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. to supply more than 9 million tons of coal annually to its Matla plant. The dirtiest fossil fuel will remain a significant source of energy as the use of wind, solar and gas technologies is increased, according to Caroline Shirindza, Exxaro’s executive head of coal.