The Coal-Face with Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly

SAfm — TALKING POINTS: 1. Mr Gwede Mantashe must take his new energy portfolio seriously by boosting renewable energy, which is cheaper and jobs-rich.2. South Africa's new carbon tax, which comes into effect tomorrow, aims at curtailing our colossal dependence on coal-based electricity3. A feather in South Africa's cap is that it remains the world's biggest exporter of manganese, a metal found in great quantities in the Northern Cape.