Ann: Notice of Annual General Meeting/Proxy Form , page-10

re: Ann: Notice of Annual General Meeting/Pro... If you think that's going to happen overnight WC8 (especially in S.A.) your kidding yourself - however I do agree it will be the way of the future but way down the track.

Fin Review Smart Investor - Energy's Bright Future

Investor impact :

So, where does that leave investors ? First, it's clear that this energy transition is likely to take place over decades rather than years - and we are just at the beginning.

Locally, gas will be the first step we make towards a transformed energy sector - not much of a step, but the excitement (and controversy) around coal-seam gas deposits in the eastern states offers strong growth stories.
Some of the more clean-tech opportunities may lie overseas, as you'll see below, and not only in energy production but also in improving efficiency, in managing demand and supply more effectively, and in the batteries that will provide power for the electric cars of the future.

But lets start with old king coal and it's heir apparent, natural gas. Eventually coal will be a fuel of the past. But there are plenty of years left in it's reign, at least as far as black coal is concerned. Brown coal, which is dirtier and releases less energy, is almost uneconomic now so probably will have a much more limited lifespan.

Asian countries will account for almost all of the increase in the World's thermal coal consumption in the next 25 years, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts.

China, where electricity consumption is increasing exponentially, will account for much of that, but India and other developing nations will also play importnat parts. The Carbon Tax will make higher quality coal assets relatively more attractive.
"Gassy" mines that allow the escape of methane from the coal seam will be at a disadvantage but high quality mines remain an attractive proposition for investors - witness the takeover for MCC which came just days after the announcement of the carbon tax. New Hope Corporation (NHC) and Whitehave Coal (WHC) are two pure plays pn this theme. "The carbon tax has made a minor difference to our coal stock valuations of between 1 and 3 per cent," says Jeremy Bendeich, chief investment officer for Avoca Investment Management.
"It has made offshore coal stocks relatively attractive, like Coalspur Mines (CPL) in Canada, in which we are invested.
Bendeich also likes Resource Generation (RES), which is developing a 6.1 billion tnne coalmine in South Africa.
Moving away from the export market, coal also generates the lios share of our country's electricity requirements.
In 2030, fossil fuels will still dominate Australia's energy mix. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics projects that in 20 years time non-renewables will account for 92 per cent of primary energy production, only 3 percentage points less than in 2008.