Mike Teke
Rainmakers & Potstirrers

Mike Teke

CEO: Seriti Resources

www.seritiza.com

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‘We don’t take this step lightly’ (on over 1,000 retrenchments at Klipspruit coal mine in 2024)

SERITI is a coal producer, but its future has a green tinge. The winds of change are literally blowing in the heart of South Africa’s coal industry and power generation, Mpumalanga province. The company is building a 155MW wind farm in Mpumalanga, which is expected to come online in 2026. That is a project of its subsidiary Seriti Green, and it will ironically provide power to the company’s coal mines – if  you are going to produce a fossil fuel linked to climate change, why not do it in a clean way? 

This is the first stage of an ambitious 900MW renewable power project over the next three years estimated to cost around R25bn. The 900MW comprises 750MW of wind and 150MW of solar – Mpumalanga has lots of wind and sunshine, and still has plenty of coal. Over 90% black-owned, Seriti is a poster child for South Africa’s drive to increase ownership in the mining sector among the historically disadvantaged African community. 

But its reputation took a blow in September after Teke announced over 1,000 coal mining jobs would be cut from its Klipspruit operation. Unions called it “a declaration of war” but a decline in the coal price and freight problems weighed on the sector as a whole last year. Glencore said it impaired its local coal business by R11bn.

LIFE OF MIKE

A former school teacher and HR executive, the soft-spoken Teke has shown he can use his skills navigating a classroom and employee punch-ups in the world of mining deal-making. His diplomatic demeanour landed him a stint as president of the Chamber of Mines, and he is deploying it these days as an advocate for both coal and clean energy – a difficult balancing act but his businesses stand to benefit from both so it is a tight rope he must walk.

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