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Seriti Resources CEO Mike Teke said he is confident coal will remain a major component of South Africa’s energy mix for at least the next two decades, despite the growing push toward emissions reduction and renewable energy sources.
Speaking at the Coal and Energy Transition Day in Johannesburg on July 23, Teke emphasized that Seriti is focusing on optimising performance at its existing coal mines, especially those supplying Eskom, the state-owned utility. He said Seriti is continuing to invest in coal assets and keeping a close eye on operational efficiency.
He acknowledged that many global mining companies are becoming more cautious about coal’s future, but Seriti sees opportunity in acquiring coal-related assets that others are exiting. “When anybody sells any asset related to coal, we want to buy and that’s how we took advantage of that,” he said.
Despite recent declines in coal prices, Teke said Seriti's coal mines remain cost-competitive and profitable at current levels. He also highlighted Seriti’s existing cost-plus pricing agreement with Eskom, which covers operating costs and capital investment plus a fixed margin. This model ensures a more stable demand and supply arrangement for Seriti’s Eskom-supplied mines.
On the export front, Seriti is pushing to grow volumes, although it faces constraints in South Africa’s logistics infrastructure — especially bottlenecks at Transnet. Ideal export levels could reach about 90 million tonnes annually, but current volumes lie between 50 million and 60 million tonnes.
Teke also called for greater clarity from government on long-term energy strategy. He argued that defining clear targets for the share of coal, renewables and other sources in South Africa’s energy mix is essential — especially given that the country has roughly 46 GW of installed generation capacity, but only about 30 GW is delivered on average.
While acknowledging that South Africa will not likely build new coal-fired power stations — the Department of Electricity and Energy’s special adviser Silas Zimu has reportedly said as much — Teke reiterated that he does not expect demand for coal to decline in the foreseeable future.
