The facility that accounts for roughly 5% of Eskom's annual electricity sales

[Daniel Puchert]

The business in South Africa that consumes enough electricity to cause a stage of load-shedding

South Africa's biggest power consumers are mining smelters, which require loads of electricity to heat up furnaces to process mineral ore into pure metal or metal alloys.

South32's Hillside aluminium smelter in Richards Bay is the country's biggest single electricity consumer, accounting for roughly 5% of Eskom's total energy sales in a year.

 

[Superjakes]

Multiple metal smelters have closed down in the last couple of decades - Highveld Steel, etc. The lack of available energy (one of the factors) makes us export raw ore to be converted to metal and then we buy it back at a premium. If only there was a way we could inject all of that into our economy and create jobs, value, TAXES and the like... Just imagine how many additional grants government might be able to pay with that!

 

[Lupus]

Multiple metal smelters have closed down in the last couple of decades - Highveld Steel, etc. The lack of available energy (one of the factors) makes us export raw ore to be converted to metal and then we buy it back at a premium. If only there was a way we could inject all of that into our economy and create jobs, value, TAXES and the like... Just imagine how many additional grants government might be able to pay with that!

Yup, which was the real reason for a big drop in demand

 

[xcaliber]

1. Does South Africa mine the Bauxite? I dont think so.
2. So we import the raw material. Refine it, then export it then import the finished goods.

The smelter uses 5% of our power but may only account of 0.5% of the revenue.

I say close the smelter down. Back in the day (when we had excess power), it made sense to build smelters and import raw material (we really should have included production and highend stuff in that agreement but never mind) and smelt it in SA.

South Africans are paying for this smelter to operate.

 

[Oldfut]

The business in South Africa that consumes enough electricity to cause a stage of load-shedding

South Africa's biggest power consumers are mining smelters, which require loads of electricity to heat up furnaces to process mineral ore into pure metal or metal alloys.

South32's Hillside aluminium smelter in Richards Bay is the country's biggest single electricity consumer, accounting for roughly 5% of Eskom's total energy sales in a year.

Hmmm, "Cheaper tariffs mired in mystery". Isn't this the one where the head of NERSA signed off on a tiny tariff then nipped over to join the RBM executive?

 

[wingnut771]

Didn't Australia used to ship their ore here to be smelted in the good old days of cheap leccy?

 

[clickingbuttons]

1. Does South Africa mine the Bauxite? I dont think so.
2. So we import the raw material. Refine it, then export it then import the finished goods.

The smelter uses 5% of our power but may only account of 0.5% of the revenue.

I say close the smelter down. Back in the day (when we had excess power), it made sense to build smelters and import raw material (we really should have included production and highend stuff in that agreement but never mind) and smelt it in SA.

South Africans are paying for this smelter to operate.

Trumpanomics?