Suggestions for Developing South Africa's New Energy Industry (Excerpt)

Qingsong Tong

    South Africa is located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, with a total land area of 1.219 million square kilometers and a total population of 60.6 million people. South Africa borders Namibia (with a land area of 0.8243 million square kilometers and a population of 2.59 million); Botswana (with a land area of 0.5817 million square kilometers and a population of 2.346 million); and Zimbabwe (with a land area of 0.39 million square kilometers and a population of 15.3 million). The northeast of South Africa is adjacent to Mozambique (with a land area of 0.7994 million square kilometers and a population of 32.2 million) and Swaziland (with a land area of 0.0174 million square kilometers and a population of 1.2 million). The Lesotho (with a land area of 0.303 million square kilometers and a population of 2.3 million) is a country within South Africa, surrounded by South African territory. Prince Edward Island and Marion Island, located 1920 kilometers southeast of Cape Town in the Atlantic Ocean, are also part of South Africa's territory. South Africa is bordered by the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, south, and west, serving as a crucial transportation hub between the two oceans. Its geographical location is extremely important, with a coastline of over 3000 kilometers.

The southern, eastern, and western edges of South Africa are coastal lowlands, surrounded by heavy mountains to the north. The northern inland area belongs to the Kalahari Desert, mostly consisting of shrub grasslands or arid deserts, with an altitude of about 650 to 1250 meters. The surrounding highlands have an elevation of over 1200 meters. The highest point in South Africa is Mount Tabana, located on the steep eastern cliff, with an elevation of 3482 meters. The eastern part is traversed by the Longshan Mountains.

    Most of South Africa has a warm temperate climate, with an average annual temperature of 10-24 ℃. There are two main rivers in South Africa: the Orange River, which flows from east to west into the Atlantic Ocean, with a total length of 2160 kilometers and is one of the largest rivers in Africa. The other is the Limpopo River, which mainly flows through the border with Botswana and Zimbabwe and flows into the Indian Ocean through Mozambique, with a total length of 1680 kilometers and a drainage area of 0.385 million square kilometers.

    South Africa has abundant mineral resources and is one of the five major mineral resource countries in the world. Its minerals are renowned for their diverse types, large reserves, and high production, and it has a geological structure known as the second richest in minerals in the world. South Africa has discovered and extracted over 70 types of minerals with a total value of approximately $2.5 trillion. According to statistics, South Africa's reserves, production, and exports of various minerals such as platinum group metals, manganese ore, chromium ore, aluminosilicates, gold, diamonds, fluorite, vanadium, vermiculite, zirconium group ores, and titanium group ores rank among the top in the world, and even account for more than 50% of the world's total reserves, production, and export. Among them, the reserves of platinum group metals, fluorite, and chromium rank first in the world; the ones of gold, vanadium, manganese, and zirconium rank second, titanium ranks fourth, phosphate ore, uranium, lead, and antimony rank fifth; the coal and zinc rank eighth, and copper rank ninth. However, due to the lack of oil and gas resources, South Africa's energy mainly relies on coal resources, while oil and natural gas mainly rely on imports, and some use bioenergy, coal to oil technology, nuclear energy, solar energy, and wind energy.

    White people, the majority of people of color, and 60% of black people adhere to Protestant or Catholic Christianity; About 60% of Asians practice Hinduism and 20% practice Islam; Some black people believe in primitive religions... Here are some suggestions for developing new energy and other industry products:

    South Africa has a complete range of manufacturing industries. The steel industry is a pillar industry of the manufacturing industry, with six major steel joint ventures and over 130 steel enterprises nationwide. In addition, there are departments such as metal products, chemicals, transportation equipment, machine manufacturing, food processing, textiles, and clothing. The mining industry is developed, and deep mining technology is in a leading position in the world. The export of primary minerals accounts for 38% of the total export value. About 70 types of metallic and non-metallic minerals are mined nationwide, with gold being the most important. South Africa is the world's largest producer and exporter of gold, known as the 'Land of Gold'.

    South Africa was once a British colony in history. In May 1961, it was renamed the Republic of South Africa. During the period of white rule, racial discrimination and segregation policies were implemented domestically through legislative and administrative means for a long time. On April 27, 1994, the first non racial general election was held, producing a Constituent Assembly and a new government. That same year, South Africa ended apartheid and passed a bill to protect the rights of black people before joining the Commonwealth.

    South Africa is the second largest economy in Africa, with a high standard of living for its citizens and a relatively stable economy compared to other African countries. South Africa has relatively developed financial, legal, communication, energy, and transportation industries, with complete hardware infrastructure and stock trading markets. Its gold and diamond production both rank first in the world. Deep well mining and other technologies are at the forefront of the world. South Africa has been identified as a medium-sized power in international affairs and maintains significant regional influence. In 2021, South Africa's gross domestic product (nominal) was 419.784 billion US dollars, with a per capita gross domestic product (nominal) of 6996.4 US dollars and an annual GDP growth rate of 4.9%. Characteristics and precautions of the new energy industry:

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1. Overview of the Energy Sector in South Africa

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3. Advantages of China's new energy development abroad

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4. Industrial situation in South Africa