Sulphur 397 Nov-Dec 2021
30 November 2021
People
Anglo American plc has announced a number of senior leadership changes. Seamus French has decided to leave Anglo American at the end of 2021 after 14 years with the company and will be replaced as CEO of Bulk Commodities by Themba Mkhwanazi, currently CEO of Kumba Iron Ore. Mpumi Zikalala, currently managing director of De Beers Managed Operations, has been appointed as CEO of Kumba. Both appointments will take effect on 1st January 2022. Mpumi’s successor at De Beers Managed Operations will be confirmed in due course.
Mark Cutifani, chief executive of Anglo American, said: “We congratulate Themba Mkhwanazi and Mpumi Zikalala on their new roles. Themba will shape the strategy for our global iron ore, metallurgical coal and manganese interests. The premium quality of our steelmaking ingredients and the partnerships we will continue to build to develop cleaner steelmaking technologies have never been more critical as we work to tackle climate change. Mpumi’s extensive operational experience at De Beers will be instrumental as she builds on Kumba’s progress to drive sustained safe, world-class performance working closely with its strategic business partners.
“I am also delighted that, together with Nolitha Fakude as chair of our management board in South Africa, and Natascha Viljoen as CEO of our PGMs business, we will have three women of such high calibre leading our extensive interests in South Africa.”
“We thank Seamus for his enormous contribution and unfailing commitment to Anglo American over 14 years, both as CEO of our coal businesses and in his more recent role leading our global bulks operations and strategy. His work to draw out considerable operational synergies and sharing of best-practice has enhanced our capabilities and been central to our performance improvements over many years. We wish him well.”
In conjunction with these changes, Ruben Fernandes, CEO of Base Metals, will also take on accountability for the iron ore and the nickel operations in Brazil. As planned, the Quellaveco copper operation in Peru will also move to the Base Metals portfolio once it is commissioned. This streamlining of responsibilities will allow Ruben to maximise efficiencies across all of Anglo American’s operations in South America, alongside his global strategic responsibilities for base metals.
Nevada Copper Corp. has named Randy Buffington as its next president and chief executive officer. He succeeds Mike Brown, who served in the roles on an interim basis. Brown has been a non-executive director of the company since 2013 and he will continue to be actively involved as a director, the copper producer said. Buffington previously served as the president and CEO of gold and silver producer Hycroft Mining Holding Corp. He has experience with multiple project ramp-ups and with improving the productivity in underground and open pit mining operations, the company said. Nevada Copper’s previous president and CEO, Mike Ciricillo, stepped down from his post in August.
Chile’s Minera Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, has appointed Edgar Basto as its new CEO, effective from December 1st. Escondida is 57% owned by BHP, in which Basto has served since 1989. He was appointed president of Minerals Australia on 1st July 2020 and was responsible for BHP’s iron ore and nickel operations in Western Australia, metallurgical and energy coal in Queensland and New South Wales, and copper in South Australia. He has extensive experience in the resources industry, with a long career spanning multiple commodities in Australia, Colombia, Chile and Peru. He has held numerous key leadership roles since joining BHP in 1989, including vice president Global Health, Safety, Environment and Communities (HSEC), Asset President Escondida and Asset President Western Australia Iron Ore. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Metallurgy) from the Industrial University of Santander and has recently received an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Edith Cowan University.
