Report: Gazprom to start coal gasification at S Africa mine proj

MOSCOW, Nov 27 (PRIME) -- A unit of Gazprom, the Russian gas producer, agreed to give Anglo African Capital Ltd. the sole distribution rights for its underground coal gasification technology in sub-Saharan Africa and is working with the company to develop the technology at a South African mine, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Gazprom Promgaz is assisting the Johannesburg-based mining company on the pre-feasibility study for the Springbok Flats coal project in the northern Limpopo province, Anglo African said in an e-mail to Bloomberg on Wednesday.

Gazprom “spends large amounts of money on research and development of the technology and is a world leader in underground-coal gasification,” Anglo African said.

About 80% of electricity generated in South Africa, the continent’s most-industrialized economy, is from coal, according to Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the country’s power utility.

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