The industrial giant aims to produce 4.5 million tonnes of coal per year from the mine.
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) will begin construction of a coal mine in Botswana’s southeastern Mamamabula coal fields in 2022, with an aim to supply the export market and a planned coal power plant, a company official said. The industrial giant aims to produce 4.5 million tonnes of coal per year from the mine.
“Work will begin next year and develop in phases over two to three years. Regional demand is growing and there is a hunger for Botswana coal in the South African market,” Jindal Botswana’s country head Neeraj Saxena told Reuters.
Despite the global shift from coal, Botswana continues to develop its estimated 212 billion tonnes of coal resources. In April, it had shortlisted Jindal, Minergy Ltd, African Energy Resources Ltd and Matla Resources in a tender to build a 300 MW coal-fired power plant.
At this month’s COP26 climate conference, Botswana signed a global commitment to reduce coal use, but fell out of a pledge to stop the issuance of new coal mining licences.
Last minute intervention by India and China just before the conclusion of climate talks changed the “phase out” of requested coal to “phase down”.
Bidding for the 300 MW power plant has been reduced to three after the withdrawal of Matla Resources, citing challenges in obtaining funding among other reasons.
Australia’s African energy resources are still in bid. The company plans to convert its coal operations into an unlisted entity.
Minerjee, the owner of the country’s only operating privately owned coal mine, has also said that it will go ahead with the bidding.
Botswana aims to increase its electricity share of renewable energy from the current two percent to 18 percent over the next 20 years, and the coal plant is its only currently planned fossil fuel-based power project.
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