LaConco Announces Return to Coal Mining After Big Business Pivot

Nonkanyiso “LaConco” Conco is making another major pivot in her business life, this time heading back toward an industry she previously left behind. The TV personality and entrepreneur says she is returning to coal mining, offering followers a peek at her latest project and reflecting on what she learned the first time around.

Return to coal mining

1. LaConco announced she is revisiting the coal mining sector, sharing images from a mining site in Mpumalanga.
2. In her update, she described her broader journey into commodities and explained how the move has drawn her back to the space she once stepped away from.
3. She looked back on her initial attempt to enter the industry in 2022, noting that the experience showed her both the potential rewards and the difficult realities of how the business world can operate.
4. LaConco wrote, “Dear coal, we cross paths again,” adding that a “good female friend” first introduced her to coal business in 2022.
5. She said that although the sector initially interested her, the challenges she faced ultimately pushed her to step back from pursuing it at the time.
6. Describing the emotional and moral pressures she encountered, she said that stepping into commodities opened her eyes to both opportunity and the “harsh realities” she associated with greed, betrayal, loss, and dishonesty—calling the experience overwhelming.
7. Despite what she described as setbacks, LaConco stressed that she is coming back with a new mindset and a stronger readiness to learn more about an industry she says is important to South Africa’s economy.
8. She shared a message about being prepared “to learn, grow, build meaningful relations,” and to better understand an industry she believes supports economies, communities, and infrastructure.
9. LaConco added that the “smell of the dust,” the “sound of the machines,” and the “energy” of the environment is something that “fulfills” her, framing the return as both personal and purposeful.

LaConco also suggested that her renewed entrepreneurial push is inspired by her son, Sakhaumuzi Zuma, whom she shares with former president Jacob Zuma.