Blackouts in Gold Mines
As if proof were needed that the world is on the brink of an energy crisis, look no further than South Africa! The country is rich in gems and precious metals and some of the world’s largest gold and platinum mining companies. This week they suspended production due to a ‘national emergency’ and spate of recent power cuts, which have ground business to a halt in many areas.
Two things come to mind: firstly, thank goodness this is 2008 and not a bygone era! Mining company owners and bosses back then would have cared less about health & safety and minors being trapped underground by a power cut than they obviously do now! Drastic though it may seem, they took the right course of action shutting everything down. Secondly, if these companies are some of the world’s largest (and one would assume, richest) in their field, why do they not join forces and lobby the Government for more action on energy issues; including infrastructure construction and maintenance? Surely, above all these days, this is the one element that is an obstacle to a country’s economic growth.
I love this quote from Goolam Ballim, chief economist of Standard Bank Group, based in South Africa:
“Power is like Oxygen, it’s essential for any half-modern economy.”
Absolutely! And protecting its source should be foremost in every business owner’s mind.
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