Eunomix™ is led by Claude Baissac. Claude is a specialist in sustainable development, growth and strategy with over 20 years of practice advising government, industry, and international organisations. His combination of expertise, at the nexus of policy, strategy and research, provides him with a unique perspective on the conditions for sustainable growth in complex societies. His clients have included most international donors, many governments, and blue chip companies. It has been his ambition to serve as a bridge between these sectors of society. One of the key thrusts of his career has been the problem of diversification and industrialisation in Africa, and its impact on the crucial need for employment creation, poverty alleviation and social capital enhancement. Claude is a recognised expert on special economic zones, and was President of the World Economic Zones Association between 2011 and 2014. Claude has a strong track record on the relationship between natural resources and sustainable growth, given the central role these play on the continent. Another key thrust has been his work with corporates as a specialist in country risk management, engaging in scenario planning, strategy and proactive risk management. For several years Claude was involved in corporate integrity management. In 2001 Claude was acting Deputy CEO for Air Afrique, an experience that motivated his subsequent involvement in risk management. Claude has solid expertise in political economy: the interface between institutions of political power and economic growth. In this field, Claude has extensively worked on the issues of state capacity, fragility and their implication for the economy and business.
Finally, Claude has been committed to solid political, economic and strategy research throughout his career, publishing extensively either in my personal capacity or through Eunomix. He started his career in teaching, first as a substitute teacher in Reunion Island, then as a lecturer at Northern Arizona University.

Mr Baxter was appointed CEO of the Minerals Council in 2015. He has 28 years of high-level advocacy and strategy experience in the business and mining sectors. He was involved in the first mineral policy discussions with the ANC in 1992 and has participated (and often led) discussions on all aspects of mining, economic, investment, transformation and tax policy with government.  He previously chaired BUSA’s Econpol and Growth Task Team. He has played a key leadership role in rejuvenating the brand of the Minerals Council and brings material leadership, governance, strategy, investment and transformation skills to the table. He is a member of the Minerals Council Board, the BUSA Board, the TEBA Trust Board and he chairs the World Platinum Investment Council. He is vice-Chairman of the international Associations Working Group and vice-Chairman of the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA). He was recently awarded the SAIMM Brigadier Stokes platinum medal for his contribution to the South African mining sector.

Robin has been in the environmental, social and sustainability field since 2000 as a consultant with a focus on the mining, oil and gas and infrastructure sectors as well as with financial institutes. He has worked across Africa and parts of the Middle East.

His key experience is in integrated management systems, Environmental Social and Governance analysis, carbon footprint calculations, environmental and social risks, water efficiency mechanisms, environmental authorizations, environmental monitoring, auditing and feasibility studies, international lending requirements, mine closure, and the environmental and social license to operate.

He has taken on the role of a sustainability specialist within IsoMetrix with the designation of Sustainability Executive.

Mark was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrick effective January 1, 2019, following completion of the merger with Randgold Resources. Previously, since its incorporation in 1995, Mark was the Chief Executive Officer of Randgold following his pioneering exploration work in West Africa. He subsequently led Randgold's growth through the discovery and development of high quality assets into a major international gold mining business. Mark played a pivotal role in promoting the emergence of a sustainable mining industry in Africa, and has a proven track record of delivering significant shareholder value. During his career, Mark has held board positions at a number of global gold mining companies. He holds a Doctorate in Geology from Natal University in South Africa.

George is a portfolio manager and metals and mining specialist in the Thematic Equity team within Multi-Asset. He joined the firm in 2007. George is a portfolio manager for the Global Gold Fund and co-portfolio manager for the diversified Natural Resources strategies. He covers all aspects of metals and mining supply and demand including, most recently, the impact of renewable energy and electric vehicles on metals demand. Prior to this, he was a market analyst for three years at BHP Billiton, working in The Hague and Singapore. He was recruited to BHP Billiton in 2004 from CRU (Commodities Research Unit), an independent metals/chemicals related research company based in London. At CRU, he spent three years in the Carbon Steel team and five years as a Research Manager – Copper, providing in-depth research and forecasts to the industry, banks and hedge funds.
George began his career in 1990 in operations at British Steel Strip Products, working for three years in the Tinplate division. George graduated from the University of Oxford in 1989 with an Honours degree in Classics and in 1995 was awarded an MBA from Warwick University.

Zandile started her career as a mining operations specialist, advancing to a technical and management consultant with a distinguished proficiency in strategy and optimization. Her professional and people skills were honed over a 16-year period, expanding her seamless ability to formulate strategy at various levels, namely, corporate, business and functional. Zandile’s analytical frameworks range from critical questioning, gap studies, industry analysis, product-market matrix, product life cycles and SWOT analysis. She, naturally, journeys the strategy development process with executives and management, assisting in informing, shaping and supporting strategic decisions. Her commodity experience includes mineral sand, gold, iron ore, platinum, coal, copper, cobalt and manganese.

Eric is a Managing Director at Accenture and looks after their Industry X.0 offerings across Africa.  He has over 13 years of mining production and planning experience and spent the last 4 years developing and implementing Industry X.0 solutions for large mining and energy organisations.  Eric has vast IoT experience and offers the ability to merge technology and practicability to the benefit of the client.Eric holds a bachelor’s in mining engineering from the University of Pretoria, an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch’s Business School and has a Manager’s Certificate of Competency for Coal Mines.  Eric is a member of SACMA and is an ECSA registered Engineer. Prior to joining Accenture, Eric worked for a large diversified resources company, where he held multiple production-related positions.  After managing the operations for one of their coal mining complexes, he transitioned into a group function, where he was responsible for the development and execution of the coal business’ optimisation department and digital strategy.

Mark contributes to Anglo American over 40 years’ experience of the mining industry across a wide range of geographies and commodities.

Mark is Chair of the Group Management Committee (GMC), is a non-executive director of Anglo American Platinum, chairman of Anglo American South Africa and chairman of De Beers.

Mark was previously CEO of AngloGold Ashanti Limited, a position he held from 2007-2013. Before joining AngloGold Ashanti, Mark was COO at Vale Inco where he was responsible for Vale’s global nickel business. Prior to this he held senior executive positions with the Normandy Group, Sons of Gwalia, Western Mining Corporation, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines and CRA (Rio Tinto).

He was previously a resource analyst at various investment banks in the United Kingdom and he also has extensive production experience in the South African gold and platinum mining industry.

He has also conducted a large amount of advisory work on behalf of the public sector having advised a number of governments in numerous regions. Prior to joining Deloitte, Martyn was a successful entrepreneur, having founded Frontier Advisory, a strategy and corporate finance advisory firm that was subsequently acquired by Deloitte. Destiny Man magazine has previously named Martyn in its “Power 40” of leading South African businessmen under the age of 40. Martyn has previously been ranked the # 1 analyst in South Africa in the “African Economies & Markets” category as awarded by the Financial Mail in its prestigious Annual Analysts of the Year awards. Martyn has been selected as a Young Global Leader, an honour bestowed by the World Economic Forum each year to recognise the most distinguished young leaders below the age of 40 from around the world and has served as a Global Agenda Council member of the WEF. He has also chaired a session at the WEF’s Annual Meeting in Davos focusing on Africa.  He is also a member of the prestigious Young President’s Organisation (YPO), a global network of young chief executives across 130 countries. He is a Senior Fellow at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth – a group comprising leading international economists which works on subjects relating to macro-economics and inclusive growth. Martyn has previously been a faculty member at Stellenbosch University and the University of Pretoria, as well as at the business schools of both universities. He has published 28 articles in accredited academic journals. He is a Visiting Professor at IE Business School, Madrid, Spain and is a Non-Executive Director of the NEPAD Business Foundation.

Previously, Mick was an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Billiton plc and Chairman of Billiton Coal. Prior to joining Billiton, Mick was an Executive Director of Eskom. Mick has extensive capital markets and corporate transactions experience. During his career, he has raised almost US$40 billion from global capital markets and successfully completed over US$120 billion of corporate transactions. Some of his successes are the creation of the Ingwe Coal Corporation in South Africa; the listing of Billiton on the London Stock Exchange; the merger of BHP and Billiton into the largest diversified mining company in the world; the initial public offering of Xstrata plc on the London Stock Exchange in 2002 and Xstrata’s subsequent acquisitions of MIM Holdings and Falconbridge Ltd., amongst others, and most recently the successful merger of Xstrata and Glencore. Mick was also the Treasurer of the Conservative Party of the UK from February 2016 to July 2019 and its Chief Executive from July 2017 to July 2019. Mick is the immediate past President of the Council of Members and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Leadership Council of the United Kingdom and is Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission of the United Kingdom. Mick is also a member of the Brookings International Advisory Council and a trustee of the Institute of National Security Studies, Israel. Mick is a Chartered Accountant by profession and an alumnus of Theodor Herzl School in Port Elizabeth. He holds an Honours degree in Commerce from Rhodes University and an Honorary Doctorate from Bar Ilan University. In the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Mick was made a Knight’s Bachelor.

As Managing Director of OIM Operations Solutions, Arjen de Bruin has more than 28 years' business consulting experience within mining, manufacturing, retail and financial services. In this capacity, Arjen is deeply engaged in creating long-term client partnerships through ensuring that OIM engagements deliver significant benefits. Arjen is a thought leader on how performance coaching of supervisors can significantly improve productivity and show a sustainable ROI. A white paper called “The state of Supervisory Competencies: A frank look at supervisory capabilities in South African mining and manufacturing” was produced in October 2018 by his team. Some of the clients Arjen is currently working with include Anglo American, PPC and Gold Fields. Prior to joining OIM, Arjen worked for a major financial service corporate, an international consulting firm and a South African business consultancy. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Arjen was at the forefront of the digitisation of financial services in South Africa and was the Chairman of the Business Process Workforce, a sub-committee of the Computer Society of South Africa. Arjen believes relationships are fundamental to delivering successful projects, and enjoys working with clients who are passionate about their business, have a clear and objective realisation of the challenges and issues that they face as well as the courage and conviction to take action that cuts to the core of the critical factors, even when unconventional and unpopular. 

De Ruyter’s experience and expertise cuts across a range of disciplines, including but not limited to: strategic leadership, commodities, sales, manufacturing and production, economic, finance and corporate structuring, legal and regulation, people management and socio-economic development, corporate knowledge, governance and risk management, and knowledge of global markets and business operations. André is a seasoned executive and has spent more than 20 years of his work life making a contribution in a number of senior management roles at petrochemicals group Sasol. He was a member of the Sasol group executive committee from 2009 to 2014 and spent some time in China as President of China Ventures and also in Germany in a business turnaround and management capacity. He was appointed as CEO of Nampak in 2014 – a position he left when he accepted the Group Chief Executive role at Eskom in January this year (2020). André holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands, a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of South Africa as well as a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pretoria.

Nolitha was appointed Group Director – South Africa on 1 September 2019. From April 2017 to August 2019, she served as a non-executive director on the Board of Anglo American plc.

Until 2016, Nolitha served as an executive director at Sasol Limited and Executive Vice President of Strategy and Sustainability. Prior to that she held senior management positions in corporate affairs, strategy and operations in the retail and financial sectors.

Nolitha is a non-executive director of JSE Limited, and a Patron of Guild Cottage home for girls. In her non-executive career, she has previously served as deputy chair and lead independent director of Datacentrix Holdings Limited, and as a non-executive director of Harmony Gold and Woolworths Holdings.

Alex is a professionally registered mechanical engineer and has been involved in transport and machinery, as well as new technology and innovation in mining for the majority of his career. He currently heads Sibanye-Stillwater’s technology and innovation department which is responsible for group technology and innovation strategy, as well as conceptualizing, developing and implementing innovative safety and productivity improvement solutions across the mining production and beneficiation value chain for Sibanye-Stillwater’s full portfolio of assets. 

On 30 April 2018, Mike Fraser, in his role of Chief Operating Officer, assumed responsibility for the Group’s alumina operations in Australia, and Cerro Matoso in Colombia. He retains the Group’s aluminium operations in South Africa in his portfolio and he is responsible for South Africa Energy Coal. On 30 April 2018, Mike Fraser, in his role of Chief Operating Officer, assumed responsibility for the Group’s alumina operations in Australia, and Cerro Matoso in Colombia. He retains the Group’s aluminium operations in South Africa in his portfolio and he is responsible for South Africa Energy Coal. Prior to this, Mike held the role of President and Chief Operating Officer for the Africa region from January 2015. Before joining South32, Mike was President, Human Resources with BHP. Prior to this he was Asset President of Mozal Aluminium Smelter in Mozambique from 2009 to 2012, having also worked in various roles in BHP’s coal, manganese and aluminium businesses. During his career, Mike held a variety of leadership roles in a large internationally diversified industrial business and has worked in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Mozambique and Australia. Mike holds a Master of Business Leadership and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of South Africa.

Neal Froneman was appointed executive director and CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater on 1 January 2013. Over the past five years he has led the transformation of Sibanye-Stillwater from a 1.5Moz South African-based gold producer into a leading precious metals miner with an international operating footprint ranking among the world’s top three PGM producers. His career spans more than 30 years during which time he worked at Gold Fields of South Africa Limited, Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony) and JCI Limited. In April 2003, Neal was appointed CEO of Aflease Gold Limited (Aflease Gold), which, through a series of reverse take-overs, became Gold One International Limited (Gold One) in May 2009. He was primarily responsible for the creation of Uranium One Incorporated (Uranium One) from the Aflease Gold uranium assets. During this period, he was CEO of Aflease Gold and Uranium One until his resignation from Uranium One in February 2008. He held the CEO position at Gold One until his appointment at Sibanye-Stillwater. In May 2016, he was elected to serve as a Vice President of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa (now the Minerals Council South Africa).

Thembelani Gantsho is the Chief Executive Officer of South African based Kudumane Manganese Resources. Prior to Kudumane, he was VP of Mining and Metals at Absa Capital, responsible for several mining and metals clients across various commodities.  

Thembelani has managed, structured, and executed numerous corporate finance transactions within South Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa as part of the various executive and senior roles he has held at Absa Capital, Xstrata (now Glencore) and Ernst & Young. He holds a Business Science Honours Degree in Finance from the University of Cape Town.”

Alistair Hodgkinson is the Executive Vice President for the EMEA Region. Alistair joined DRA in 2007 and has over 23 years’ industry experience. He has been involved in large scale mining and minerals processing projects across EMEA, implementing various greenfields and brownfields resources projects.  In his current role, Alistair oversees the successful delivery of all projects across EMEA. Alistair completed his B.Sc. Eng (Mechanical) at the University of the Witwatersrand, holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town and is a registered professional engineer.

André Joubert is a Mining Engineer. He is the Chief Executive of the Ferrous Division of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM). This division is responsible for the operational activities of Assmang, which is a 50/50 joint venture between African Rainbow Minerals and Assore, which are both listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. André is the Chairman of the Assmang Exco, The Chairman of the Sakura Board (Smelter in Malaysia) and an Executive Director of Assmang. In this position he is responsible for all operational, legal, strategic and growth related to the division’s Iron Ore mines, its Manganese mines and Manganese smelters. André Joined ARM in August of 2009 as Executive Operations in the Ferrous Division and was appointed to the Chief Executive position in July 2012. Prior to working at ARM he was the CEO at Hernic Ferrochrome in South Africa for two years and prior to that he worked for Anglo American Corporation for 25 years. André held various senior and executive operational positions within Anglo American’s gold and base metals divisions and also spent some time evaluating and designing mining projects. In total he accumulated 38 years of experience within the mining industry.  André studied at the University of Potchefstroom and graduated in 1981 with a BSc in Mining Engineering from the University of Pretoria and in 1996 he obtained a MBA at the University of Stellenbosch.

Charl Keyter was appointed a Director of Sibanye-Stillwater on 9 November 2012 and Executive Director and CFO on 1 January 2013. Previously, he was Vice President and Group Head of International Finance at Gold Fields. Charl has more than 20 years’ mining experience, having begun his career at Gold Fields in February 1995.

Lucky Kgatle obtained a BSc in Engineering: Industrial from Wits University in 2001.  He also has an MBA from GIBS which he received in 2009. He has held a number of positions at Sasol, including Vice President, Strategy and Business Development; Executive Manager, Operations Excellence; General Manager, Syferfontein Colliery; General Manager, Coal Handling Plant; Manager, Manufacturing and Site Work, Central Workshop; Section Engineer, Central Workshop; Reliability Engineer; Technical Advisor. He is currently Senior Vice President, a position he has held since January 2016. He is responsible for initiating the design and development of systems and processes and services to ensure a sustainable coal delivery and shaping the organisation within the external socio-economic environment as a responsible player in the coal mining industry.  He is also required to maintain the organisation’s image/relationship with all stakeholders, but specifically the DMR, the local government and the local communities.  He is also responsible for the development and execution of the organisation’s long-term strategy (10 to 40 years). In addition to being a director at Sasol Mining and Sasol Mining Holdings, he is also a director of Ixia Coal, Ixia Coal Funding and the Sasol Rehabilitation Trust. He is a member of the Engineering Council of South Africa.

Lullu Krugel is the Chief Economist for PwC South Africa and a Partner in the strategy team. She leads a team of 17 economists, political analysts and regulatory specialists. Lullu and the team assist clients in understanding how the external economic and socio-economic environment might impact on their business, as well as how their own activities contribute to the creation of jobs, their total tax contributions and their contribution to GDP. In addition, Lullu and the team also assist clients in identifying investment opportunities and develop business strategies in particular for Africa expansion. Some of their past clients include, amongst others, ABInBev, SASOL, Vodacom, Naspers, Discovery, FNB and Standard Bank. Lullu is a regular commentator in the media and a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. She holds an M.Com Degree in Economics and Risk Management and post graduate diplomas in Energy Law, Competition Law, Economic Regulation and Regulatory Pricing.

Boipelo joined Harmony on 1 June 2017 as Chief Financial Officer. She is a chartered accountant (SA) by profession with extensive experience in group financial management and reporting within the mining industry. Her previous roles include that of Chief Financial Officer of Atlatsa Resources Corporation and Financial Manager of Northam Platinum Limited. She served as an independent non-executive director of Trans Hex Group Limited from August 2013 until March 2017 and currently serves as an independent non-executive director on the boards of African Rainbow Capital Proprietary Limited and UBI General Partner Proprietary Limited since 7 June 2018. She also serves as a trustee of the Harmony group environmental trust funds.

Mosa Mabuza qualified as a geologist with a BSc (Hons) and with a PDA in Business. He has extensive exploration experience in multiple regional jurisdictions that span SADC, West Africa and Canada, amongst others. He assumed his official duties in 2006 as Director of Mineral Economics in the erstwhile Department of Minerals and Energy and later became Deputy Director-General of the Mineral Policy (and Investment Promotion) in 2012. During his tenure as an official, he was assigned with the duties of leading the preliminary strategy for sustainable development and meaningful transformation of South Africa’s mining industry with emphasis on competitive growth and transformation as symbolistic reinforcing concepts, the development of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill and the assessment of the progress impact on the implementation of the Mining Charter in 2009 and 2015, which respectively based the evidence value proposition for the amendments of the 2010 and 2017 Mining Charter. Mr Mabuza represented the Department of Mineral Resources on the boards of number of science councils and State-Owned Entities, including, albeit not limited to, the Council for Geoscience, Mintek and the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator. In November 2016, Mr Mabuza was deployed to the Council for Geoscience and now serves as CEO (since July 2017). He is currently working with his colleagues to champion the refocused geo-scientific programme that seeks to optimise the development impact, aligned with the national developmental priorities.

Jongisa Magagula is currently the Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Development at African Rainbow Minerals (ARM). She began her career in the financial reporting department of Unilever South Africa Home and Personal Care. During her time at Unilever she was seconded to the internal audit team of Ernst and Young. In 2007 Jongisa joined Absa Capital and was seconded to Barclays Capital in London where she worked in the Real Estate Group Services team originating commercial debt and structuring commercial debt securitisations. She returned to Absa Capital and joined the Mining and Metals team responsible for financing and risk management solutions for mining clients. Jongisa holds a Bachelor of Business Science (Finance) Honours from the University of Cape Town.

Charl Malan is the Senior Analyst for the global hard assets strategy. He specializes in base and industrial metals and also serves on the investment team for the gold equity strategy. He has been a member of the investment management team since 2003. Prior to joining VanEck, Charl was an equity research sales analyst specializing in the South African mining, natural resources and financial sectors at JPMorgan Chase. He was actively involved in the merger of BHP Billiton/SAB Miller and the unbundling of Iscor Steel/Kumba Resources as well as capital raisings and the NYSE listing of Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, and Telkom SA. He was previously an equity research analyst and junior portfolio manager at Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank, Asset Management (South Africa). He developed and applied various fundamental and quantitative models within the natural resources, mining and consumer sectors and established an equity research department and managed Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank, Asset Management (Namibia). His media appearances include ROBTv and he has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Forbes, CNBC and The Financial Times, among others. Charl has also featured in mining journals such as miningmx, Mining Journal and Resource Investor. He has an MBA and an Honours’ degree in Business Administration from the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa);, and a BA in Arts from the University of Pretoria (South Africa).

Olivia Markham, CFA, Managing Director and portfolio manager, is a member of the Natural Resources team within the Fundamental Equity division of BlackRock's Active Equity Group. She co-manages the BGF Circular Economy Fund, the BlackRock World Mining Trust, the BGF World Mining Fund and a number of the team's segregated portfolios. Ms. Markham joined BlackRock in 2011. Previously, she was head of the European Mining team at UBS. Ms. Markham earned a BComm degree, with honours, in finance, from the University of Western Australia in 2003.

Glen is the Executive Head of Technical and Projects for Kumba Iron ore.  In his current role he is responsible for exploration, geosciences, mining, processing, asset strategy and reliability, business improvement, technology deployment and growth projects.  He has over 22 years of experience in South African and West African iron ore and has held numerous roles in the fields of exploration, geosciences, geotechnical engineering and geohydrology.  Glen is a registered Professional Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat) and holds a Bachelors degree in Geology, a Graduate Diploma in Rock Engineering, a Chamber of Mines Certificate in Rock Engineering and a Masters degree in Mining Engineering. He has published several papers on open-pit geotechnical engineering and was the founding Chairman of the Surface Mining branch of the South African Institute of Rock Engineering.  From October 2011 to 2014 he also served as the examiner for the Surface Mining Chamber of Mines Certificate in Rock Engineering.

Claire has spent majority of her career working in the mining industry, firstly in her role as the Managing Consultant of a specialist mining placement company, followed by many years as the Group HRM for MSA, one of Africa's largest exploration and mining consulting firms. In conjunction with MSA leadership, Claire developed effective and innovative systems which focused on the professional development of technical people, who are able to meet the challenges of the modern mining industry. She is most proud of her involvement in the change management process that resulted in MSA winning various awards in the Deloitte Best Company to Work for Survey – including best professional services company. Claire joined the Fraser Alexander Executive Team in September 2018 where she is responsible for the Human Resources department that fulfils four key roles – those of strategic partner, change agent, administrative expert and employee champion. In addition, Claire leads the Learning and Development, Communication and Community Liaison functions. She is also responsible for their annual sustainability report. Claire holds an Honours degree in Industrial Psychology and has over 20 years of management experience. She is particularly passionate about the advancement of women in the South African mining industry and in addition to her role in HR, Claire serves as the Past Chairperson of Women in Mining South Africa (WIMSA) and is a current WIMSA patron.

Mxolisi Mgojo has been in the mining industry since 2001. Prior to that, his career includes 10 years as a software engineer and 8 years in the finance industry including Societé Generale Investment Banking. Mxolisi has been with Exxaro Resources since its inception in 2006, heading the Base Metals and Industrial Minerals business before being appointed as the Executive Head of Coal in August 2008.  In May 2015 Mxolisi was appointed as CEO Designate and took over the reins from Sipho Nkosi as Chief Executive Officer on 1 April 2016.  Before joining Exxaro, Mxolisi was a founder member of Eyesizwe Coal where he was the Marketing and Logistics Manager.  Mxolisi sits on the boards of Exxaro Resources and Tronox Limited. On 24 May 2017 Mxolisi was elected as the President of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa after serving on the Executive Council of the Chamber since 2015 and the Collieries Committee of the Chamber prior to becoming a member of the Chamber’s Executive Council.  On 27 May 2017, Mxolisi received the Paul Harris Award from the Hatfield Branch of the Rotary Foundation. Mxolisi has a BSc degree in Computer Science (Northeastern University, USA), an Honours degree in Energy Studies (Rand Afrikaans University), a Diploma in International Financial Management and an MBA (Henley Management College, UK).  He has also completed a Societé Generale Investment Banking and Corporate Finance Programme (Kellogg, USA) and an Advanced Management Programme (Wharton).

Mpumelelo Mkhabela is the Chairperson of Menar, which has controlling stakes in Canyon Coal, Zululand Anthracite Colliery, Kangra and East Manganese. He is an experienced media practitioner and business leader.

As a political and policy analyst, Mkhabela regularly comments on South Africa’s political economy. He has edited the Sowetan and the Daily Dispatch newspapers and is also the former chairman of the South African National Editors’ Forum. His qualifications include a BA Hons (Political Science) from the University of Limpopo, BA Journalism (Hons) and a certificate in economic and political risk analysis from Stellenbosch University and, lastly, an MA in International Politics from the University of South Africa.

Nico Muller holds a BSc Mining Engineering degree from the University of Pretoria and has a 28-year mining career across a range of commodities, including platinum. He has a proven track record as a successful operator and is a highly-rated leader and strategic thinker. Nico was appointed to the board of Implats as both Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Director in April 2017. Prior to this he served as Executive Vice-President of Gold Fields’ South African operations (South Deep) for three years, where he fulfilled a pivotal role in re-energising and repositioning the mine for a sustainable future. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer at Royal Bafokeng Platinum, and in various other high-level positions at Anglovaal, African Rainbow Minerals, Avgold and De Beers.

Deshnee Naidoo is a mining executive with diverse experience spanning 22 years. She has progressed through both the operational and corporate ranks across various functions and commodities over multiple geographies. Deshnee started her career at Anglo American Platinum in 1998 where she occupied a range of positions, including Process Engineer, Strategic Long-term Planning Manager and Manager - Corporate Finance Manager. She was appointed Deputy Head of the Anglo American Group CEO’s office in 2009 . In 2011, she was appointed CFO of Anglo American Thermal Coal, where she managed two commodities (thermal coal and manganese) across three geographies (South Africa, South America and Australia).

Deshnee was appointed CEO of Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) and Copper Mine Tasmania (CMT), subsidiaries of Vedanta Limited, in 2014. She was responsibie for operations and projects in South Africa and Namibia, the now closed Lisheen Mine in Ireland, and CMT in Australia. In May 2018, Deshnee was appointed to the board of the Minerals Council South Africa. Deshnee was also appointed CEO of Konkola Copper Mine and Africa Base Metals for Vedanta Resources Limited in June 2018. During her time at Vedanta, Deshnee saw the execution of the iconic Gamsberg Project in the Northern Cape. During her two-year tenure at the Minerals Council, Deshnee championed the Women in Mining initiative to advance the representation and development of women in the industry. Deshnee left Vedanta in May 2020 to spend time with her family whilst she plans her next industry move.

July was appointed CEO of Anglo American's coal business in South Africa on 1 September 2016. He was previously the Executive Head of Processing at Anglo American Platinum and held several senior managerial positions in metallurgical operations and technical services at Anglo American subsidiaries in Zimbabwe.

He was transferred to Anglo American Platinum in 2001, first as business manager of the Polokwane smelter and later as head of process technology. July graduated in Engineering and Business Leadership from the Universities of Zimbabwe and South Africa respectively and has completed the Columbia Business School's Senior Executive Programme.

Bongi has had over 15 years’ experience in the mining industry, having worked in iron ore and base metal commodities. Her career started after graduating from the University of the Witwatersrand with a BSc (Eng) in Metallurgy and Material Engineering. Bongi holds a Masters of Business Administration from GIBS, University of Pretoria and a BSc (Eng) Honours (Metallurgical Engineering), University of Pretoria. She also has an Advanced Management Programme Certificate, University of Navarra, IESE Business School. She has held various positions in the mining industry, which has given her experience in the processing of minerals, delivering capital projects, technology research, digital road mapping and driving modernisation across the mining value chain. Bongi also served as a member of the innovation steering committee at the Minerals Council of South Africa and she is also a Council Member for the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).  

As Manager of Technology at Kumba Iron Ore, she was responsible for leading Kumba’s digital technology strategy and innovation roadmap, which has seen the company roll out some significant technologies such as a fully autonomous drilling fleet at Kolomela mine, advanced process control for plant operations, an autonomous braking system for haul trucks and other applications. She has been recognised as a leader in the field of mine modernisation, which has led to her being a panellist at several conferences. Bongi was appointed Cluster Executive Manager for Mining at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in April 2020. In her current role she continues to provide strategic direction and drive the leadership for strategy development of appropriate capabilities for the mining industry, in line with revised re-invigorated CSIR industrialisation and collaboration strategy. 

Thandi is married with 3 adult children and a granddaughter. She is an avid golfer, sport fanatic, reads voraciously, travels extensively and is passionate about transforming mindsets. She is an Inanda Seminary Alumna having matriculated in the Class of 1974. Thandi obtained her undergrad degree from Fort Hare University, went on to qualify and be admitted as an attorney.

During her student years, she was a political activist, taken into detention and expelled from Fort Hare University when she was doing her final year LLB. She became a Human Rights Lawyer and Socio-Economic Development Activist whose career of over 35 years spans the roles of attorney, mediator, arbitrator, facilitator, dispute resolution practitioner, public speaker, executive management and director of companies.

She holds a B Juris Degree from Fort Hare University, B Proc and LLB Degrees from UNISA, LLM Degree from Wits and an Executive Management Program from Kellogg's Business School, Chicago, USA. She practiced as an attorney at the Legal Resources Centre, headed the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa where she concentrated on management, fundraising, arbitration and mediation. When the CCMA was established, she became its first Black female National Director. After she left the CCMA, her first board position was at the South African Reserve Bank as an Independent Non-Executive Director. She then straddled practice as a commercial lawyer, independent Non-executive director on listed and private companies and trustee of various Foundations and NGO's.

She is presently an admitted advocate, shareholder and executive director of Peotona Group Holdings, Trustee of various Trusts notably Chair of the Legal Resources Trust and Zenex Foundation, Trustee of Friends of LRC (USA)South African Future Trust (SAFT) , Council Member of Zenex Charitable Foundation (Jersey Island) and Director of a number of boards and Chair of BP Southern Africa and Chair designate of Impala Platinum Limited.

Before joining Rothschild & Co in this role in 2003, she had 17 years of experience in the City of London at major financial institutions where she was consistently rated as one of the top investment analysts in mining, ending up as head of the European Mining Research at SSMB (part of Citigroup). In 2006, Fiona formed AIM Mining Research and, in the same year, published "Understanding Junior Miners" in conjunction with three geologists and a mining engineer. Prior to arrival in the City of London in 1986, she had six years of experience in financial journalism and academia in South Africa, building up a broad knowledge of managerial and financial topics. Fiona served as a non-executive director on the board of Dominion Diamond Corporation from February 2014 to January 2016.

Christine was appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer of AngloGold Ashanti with effect from 1 September 2020. Prior that she served as AngloGold Ashanti’s Chief Financial Officer and has been an executive director of the company since 1 October 2014. Christine has held senior financial management and executive positions in various companies. She previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Sasol from 2006 to 2013. Prior to this, she was CEO of Johnnic Holdings, having previously served as Financial Director. Christine is currently a non-executive director on the board of MTN Group. She also serves as a director of the World Gold Council and the International Council on Mining and Metals. She previously served on the boards of Rand Refinery, Lafarge SA (France), Transnet and Johnnic Communications. She is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Public Accountants’ and Auditors Board in South Africa. Christine serves as a director of the International Federation of Accountants and she was recently appointed on the Presidential Council for State Owned Enterprises in South Africa. Christine was nominated as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2007. She previously served as the Chairperson of the listed companies CFO Forum in South Africa and was awarded CFO of the Year in 2018. She also previously served as a member of the Standing Advisory Committee to the International Accounting Standards Board and as Deputy Chair of the Financial Reporting Standards Council of South Africa.

Andries is PwC’s Africa Energy, Utilities and Resources leader and an experienced JSE accredited audit partner. He has been with the firm since 1997 and partner since 2007. He has experience in numerous stock exchange transactions, including IPOs, fund raisings, and reporting accountant work for acquisitions. He has a specific focus on mining clients across commodities and mining methods. Andries is the project leader for the firm’s SA Mine and Global Mine publications which gives him excellent insight into industry wide issues.  Although he has a specific focus on mining and construction clients, Andries also has a variety of cross industry exposure with previous involvements in retail, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, banking and insurance clients. His core industries has given him the opportunity to work with cross border teams on a regular basis. 

Prof Bob Scholes is a systems ecologist with a particular interest in the savannas of Africa. He is among the top 1% of environmental scientists worldwide based on citation. He has led several high-profile studies (e.g. the Assessment of Elephant Management, the Strategic Assessment of Shale Gas Development, the Global Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment) and large research campaigns (e.g. SAFARI 2000 and the Southern African Millennium Assessment). He was an author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th assessments. He has been on the boards of the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, the South African National Parks and South African National Space Agency. He is a Member of the South African Academy, a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, an NRF A-rated scientist, and a winner of the National Science and Technology Forum Lifetime Contribution to Science Award.

Laxman Shekhawat is a national award-winning Senior Executive, leader, pioneer and strategist with over 29 years of rich and insightful experience in the metals and mining industry. He has contributed to the expansion of HZL mine and its status as one of the largest zinc producers in the world. Laxman has played a pivotal role in the M&A process followed by change management initiatives to effectively and seamlessly drive operations. His expertise expands to the field of process standardization and system implementation to equip organizations with best practices in cost optimization and effective controls. Deft in formulating business as well as operational strategies, Laxman is adept at addressing inherent issues, resolving performance bottlenecks and achieving planned business objectives. He aspires to uphold effective governance and best safety standards along VZI’s journey towards becoming the best in class organization of its kind.

Errol is a geologist, registered with the South African Council of Natural Scientific Professionals. He has more than 25 years of industry experience across all aspects of exploration, mine development and operations with experience in precious and base metals. Errol has held positions in Anglogold, Cluff Mining, Metallon Gold, Clarity Minerals, LionGold Corporation and African Stellar Holdings.  His senior executive roles have been on several boards of companies listed on the TSX, ASX and JSE.

Peter Steenkamp is Harmony’s chief executive officer and executive director from 1 January 2016. He has some 30 years’ experience in the mining industry, which include his last position as Senior Vice President: Mining of Sasol Mining Proprietary Limited, executive positions at Harmony from 2003 to 2007, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Pamodzi Gold. He is a member and past president of the Association of Mine Managers, and a member of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the South African Colliery Managers’ Association.

Bernard is the Chairman of the annual Junior Indaba and Joburg Indaba as well as an Executive Director of the SBI. He is a Partner at To-The-Point Growth Specialists as well as a Partner in THINKspiration. He served as Non-Executive Director on the boards of Impala, Zimplats, Eqstra and African Rainbow Minerals Limited. Previous roles include Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Village Main Reef Limited and CEO of Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited. He is Chairman and Managing Partner of MMC (Manganese Metal Company) as well as a non-executive director of African Rainbow Energy Producer (AREP).

From his beginnings in education to his career in Human Resources, Mike has gained extensive experience in people and business management in BHP and Impala, as well as CEO of Optimum Coal Holdings (prior to it being taken over by Glencore). Mike is the Chairperson and controlling shareholder of the Masimong Group and serves as Chair/Non-Executive Director at the Anchor Group, Rofles Holdings and the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. He is also a past president of the Chamber of Mines and serves on the Council of the Chamber. In keeping with his passion to leave a legacy for the next generation, Mike serves on the board of the University of Johannesburg.

Dr Nombasa Tsengwa has more than 18 years of executive management and board experience in the public and private sectors. In 2003, she joined Kumba Resources as General Manager, Safety, Health and Environment. In 2007, she became Executive General Manager, Safety and Sustainable Development. In 2010, she became directly involved with the management of coal operations, as the General Manager of Captive Mines and General Manager of Mpumalanga operations. In 2015, she was appointed as the Acting Executive Head of Coal Operations and was subsequently appointed as Executive Head of Coal Operations in July 2016. In July 2020, she was appointed to a new portfolio, heading up the development of the minerals strategy as one of the core businesses which includes the coal portfolio and operations, as the Managing Director Minerals. She is the 2017 winner of the Standard Bank Businesswoman of the Year award and most recently, the 2018 winner of the Pan-African Awards – Africa’s most Influential Woman in Business and Government, Mining Industry Category. She has a Ph.D. in Agronomy (University of Maryland, College Park, US) and has completed an Executive Development Programme (EDP) (Instead).

Douglas Upton is an equity investment analyst at Capital Group with research responsibility for global metals and mining companies. He has 31 years of investment experience and has been with Capital Group for 15 years. Earlier in his career at Capital, he also covered Canadian banks and was European Director of Research. Prior to joining Capital, Doug worked for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Before that, he was Vice President of Commodity Research for HSBC, and in various operational, finance and marketing positions with WMC Resources, a mining company. He holds both an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Western Australia. Doug is based in London.

Venkat was the Chief Executive Officer of the global gold producer, AngloGold Ashanti Limited from 2013 to 2018, and was the Group CEO of the diversified natural resources group Vedanta Resources Limited from 2018 to 2020. With experience across natural resources, finance, strategy, restructuring, senior executive and board leadership positions, his career spans across six continents and several metals, notably gold. He has successfully brought new projects into production, driven portfolio rationalisation and M&A, improved productivity, halved costs and cut debt levels by a third, despite the sharply lower gold price. During his leadership, overall safety and sustainability trends in the companies improved. Prior to the above CEO roles, he served as Chief Financial Officer of AngloGold Ashanti Limited from 2005 to 2013. From 2000 to 2004, he was Chief Financial Officer of London and Ghana -listed Ashanti Goldfields Limited. During these periods he lead the elimination of one of the world’s largest gold hedge books, rebuilt the balance sheets and raised financing. Prior to this he was a Director with Deloitte in London leading corporate restructurings on behalf of both corporates and financiers. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a commerce graduate. He has represented the companies in various industry bodies.

Prior to her current appointment, Natascha was group head of Processing for Anglo American, a position she had held since 2014. This followed six years at Lonmin, where she served on the executive committee as executive vice president of Processing, also with responsibility for several wider corporate functions including sustainability.

Prior to that, Natascha worked for BHP’s coal and chrome businesses in South Africa (including as general manager of BHP’s Klipspruit Colliery), the Modikwa joint venture between Anglo American Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals, and AngloGold. Natascha began her career in 1991 at Iscor as a trainee engineer.

Natascha serves on advisory boards of the chemical engineering faculties at the South African universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Queensland University’s JKMRC (Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre) in Australia. She has served as a non-executive director on the board of Kumba Iron Ore. Natascha is a metallurgical engineer and holds a Bachelor of Engineering from North-West University in South Africa and an Executive MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Mpumi was appointed Managing Director, De Beers Group Managed Operations, in April 2019.

She joined De Beers Group in 2001 as an Ore Processing Engineer and Section Head at the Cullinan mine. In 2007, she resumed the role of Production Manager at De Beers Kimberley mines before taking the reins as General Manger. She was appointed General Manager of the Group’s Voorspoed mine in 2010, a role she held for three years before her appointment as Senior Vice-President of De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa.

In November 2018, she was appointed Deputy CEO of De Beers Consolidated Mines, a position she occupied for six months before rising to her current role as the first Managing Director of the Group’s Managed Operations.

Mpumi holds a BSc in chemical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and has since studied at the Maccauvlei Learning Academy and the London Business School.

Sandile Donald Muziwenkosi Zungu (“Zungu”) was born in Durban on the 10th of February 1967. He did post-matric at Hilton College in 1994. Zungu completed a BSc (Mechanical Engineering) degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1988 as well as a MBA at the UCT Graduate School of Business in 1995. In 2000 he completed a Programme for Global Leadership certificate at the Harvard Business School in Boston, USA. Zungu has 6 years’ plant maintenance and projects management experience within engineering and production environments. In 1998 he led SARHWU Investment Holdings to become the BusinessMap Dealmaker of The Year. In 2000 he represented South Africa at the 6th finals of the World Young Business Achievers, which were held in Florida, USA, and won the much-coveted Outstanding Business Strategy award. Zungu featured in the Financial Mail’s Little Black Book profiling South Africa’s 300 most influential blacks and graduated as a member of the World Economic Forum in his capacity as Young Global Leader. Zungu was an independent non-executive chairman of Denel, which is South Africa’s state-owned arms manufacturer. He serves on the BBBEE Presidential Advisory Council and is President of the Black Business Council. He is also a non-executive director of Novus Holdings, listed on the JSE Securities Exchange. He is Executive Chairman of Zungu Investments Company (Proprietary) Limited (Zico), which is the holding company of his business interests.