According to Mr David van Wyk chief researcher of Bench Marks Foundation, the rate at which South Africa’s coal is being mined is unsustainable and all known reserves will be depleted by 2050.

Mr Van Wyk said that “Within one generation, we will not only have consumed the entire resource but we will also have destroyed the environment, along with our ability to produce food. We need to find alternative sources of energy to reduce energy consumption and to guard against destroying our agricultural capacity,.”

Mr Xavier Prevost senior coal industry analyst of Wood Mackenzie told Mining Weekly that all coal reserves will be depleted 50 years from now, but points out that this does not mean that coal mining will cease. He said that “Maybe in 20 years from now new coal resources will be discovered. Given the current, high coal prices, people may be prompted to look at other areas, where coal has not been mined before.”

He added that “New research and new findings will also give the coal-mining industry a lifeline.”