Monthly Archives: December 2012

Clean coal : A term used for coal that does not release it’s carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Coal was made from the deposited layers of forests and organic matter that have held the carbon under the earth over millions of years. Burning it releases all that carbon dioxide which is a major greenhouse gas. Continue Reading

As South Africa’s second largest earner with regard to the value of total sales after gold, coal provides 6.1% of the country’s total merchandise exports. World wide, South Africa is the sixth largest holder of coal with 31 billion tonnes of recoverable coal reserves. This is equivalent to 11 % of the world’s total coal Continue Reading

South Africa is a significant participant in the global coal markets. However, it is not the biggest. China, the USA and India are much larger producers and consumers of coal. Australia, Indonesia, Russia and Colombia are larger exporters.  Yet, South Africa’s coal industry is noteworthy in a number of respects;  it is a relatively low Continue Reading