Praveen Baijnath is a Chemical Engineer and MBA graduate with more than 30 years’ experience in minerals beneficiation, refining and smelter operations, and the chemical process industry. Praveen was appointed as Chief Executive of Rand Refinery on 1 June 2015. He is also an Executive Director on the Rand Refinery Board. His other board directorships include Prestige Bullion and Chairman of the Ekurhuleni Jewellery Project (SMME Development) and he remained until December 2020 as a non-independent, non-executive director on the Delta EMD Limited Board. He was (2009-2015) Group CEO of previously JSE-listed Delta EMD which refined and beneficiated South Africa’s manganese to electrolytic manganese di-oxide.  He also served as CEO of Gold Reef Speciality Chemicals. His previous roles spanning a period of 20 years were with Huntsman Corporation Titanium(di-oxide business) in process and chemical engineering, plant management and executive management roles in operations, EHS, technical and strategic development.

Mr Frans Baleni is the past General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, South Africa’s largest trade Union, a role he has held since 2006. He started his career in the mining industry in 1979 and a year later was elected a Shop Steward. In 1988, he became Branch Chairman at the Western Holdings Mine in Welkom. Frans then joined the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM’s) arm and held a variety of posts until his election in 2006 as General Secretary. He was a member of the JB Marks Bursary Trust and established its mandate – the provision of sustainable funding to support the education of NUM members and their dependents. As Chairman of the Mineworkers Investment Trust, he oversaw assets in excess of R5b. During the 1980’s joined the UDF (United Democratic Front) in its battle against apartheid. In the early 1990’s, he served on the negotiating team at CODESA (the Convention for a Democratic South Africa) seeking to level the political ‘playing field’. As a board member, Mr Baleni brings sound commercial, risk, governance and compliance skills together with his expertise in health and safety, government relations, education and training, energy sector, stakeholder management and collective bargaining processes.

Rachael Bartels is a client account lead, responsible for helping the world’s leading companies (with a focus on chemicals and natural resources) embrace change to create value for people, communities and shareholders. Rachael has over 30 years of experience in consulting, having led projects addressing sustainability, supply chain, business and operations strategy and customer relationship management. A dedicated advocate for inclusion and diversity, Rachael sponsors Accenture’s Women’s Executive Leadership programme in Europe and has been a sponsor of the company’s pride initiatives. Rachael is passionate about harnessing new technologies and process innovations to drive sustainability and business growth. She has been instrumental in developing new business areas for Accenture, including new approaches to worker safety. She is a frequent speaker at chemicals and mining industry conferences and events. She has also published numerous articles on disruptions reshaping the chemicals and mining sectors, particularly the emerging opportunities for sustainable revenue streams in the circular economy. Rachael has held numerous leadership roles at Accenture, including Industry Managing Director for Chemicals and Natural Resources. She has also served on Accenture’s global and European management committees with responsibility for developing the talent and offerings of Accenture’s function networks and programmes. Rachael joined Accenture in 1988 and became a Managing Director in 2009. She holds a degree in politics and economics from Smith College in the Northeast United States. She is based in London.

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.

Brett joined RCF in 2009 and has spent the last 12 years working in various investment offices of RCF across three continents. He has more than 18 years of technical and commercial experience in the development of mining assets across the globe and is currently responsible for managing a diverse mix of assets within the private equity group. Brett is also a Non-Executive Director of Global Advanced Metals.

Stuart Brown is currently the President and CEO of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc, a Canadian-listed diamond mining and development company that owns 49% of the Gahcho Kue mine situated in the Northwest Territories. Stuart has nearly 30 years of experience in the diamond industry, where he has gained a wealth of experience across all aspects throughout the diamond pipeline from exploration, mine development and operations to the selling and marketing of diamonds. This experience has been gained through working for De Beers in many roles for 20 years.  Prior to leaving De Beers in 2011 Stuart was the CFO as well as the joint acting CEO for the De Beers Group.  Stuart was also the CEO of publicly-listed Firestone Diamonds Plc, a diamond producer in Lesotho, where he was responsible for securing the US$225 million funding and building the team that delivered the successful construction and transition to production of Firestone’s Liqhobong diamond mine.  Stuart has an enviable track record of leading business transformation to develop lean, agile and high-performing organisations. Stuart holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science from the University of South Africa.

Sandra Burmeister is a founder member of Landelahni in 1996, the first black and women-owned executive search firm in South Africa and the Amrop partner from 1997 - 2017. Sandra has 22 years’ experience in executive search, working with blue chip companies in SA and multinationals across sectors. She led the Africa expansion, opening offices in Nairobi and Lagos and the change to N2Growth Africa in 2018. Sandra led the Global Board Practice for Amrop for five years, expanding the board services offered by partners around the globe, whilst developing a substantial board practice in South Africa, placing over 300 board directors in sectors spanning mining, electricity, water, roads, construction, property and asset management, including companies with listings across multiple jurisdictions (JSE, FTSE, NASDAQ and ASX). Sandra also led the Global Mining, Energy and Industrials Practice Group for 10 years, which offers multi-sector executive search experience placing executives across mining, large industrials, SOCs, development finance institutions and private equity firms in agriculture and alternative energy. More recently she has working to build the Africa Fintech practice. Sandra is a founder of Africa Board Ready Women and The All Africa Employee Engagement Awards/Inspiring Workplaces. N2Growth is a global leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 40 locations worldwide and serving more than 70% of the Fortune 500. N2Growth has been named in the Forbes Top Search Firms list for the fifth year in a row.

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).

Tracey Davies is executive director of Just Share, a South African non-profit shareholder activist organisation using engagement, advocacy and activism to drive urgent action to combat climate change and reduce inequality. Tracey holds a BA LLB from the University of Cape Town and an LLM from New York University. She is admitted as an attorney in South Africa and as a solicitor in England & Wales. Just Share works collaboratively with local and international social justice partners and responsible investors to advance sustainable finance and a just transition to a low carbon economy. Just Share has supported and filed South Africa’s first shareholder resolutions on climate risk. Tracey sits on the Steering Committee of the Academy of Sciences South Africa’s Just Transition Forum and is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Business Initiative’s Just Transition Pathways Initiative. She is a recognised expert on corporate governance, responsible investment and shareholder activism.

André de Ruyter is currently the Eskom Holdings Group Chief Executive (GCE), overseeing a 100% state-owned company of over 40,000 employees, responsible for providing over 95% of South Africa’s electricity needs and  approximately 45% of the electricity used across Africa. Under André’s leadership, Eskom operates 30 power stations, including base-load coal and nuclear power stations, hydro, pumped storage and gas-fired peaking power stations as well as a self-dispatching wind farm. Eskom has a total nominal capacity of over 44,000MW, supported by a network consisting of almost 400,000km of high, medium and low-voltage lines and underground cables serving over 6,000,000 direct customers.

A seasoned executive, with a career spanning over 30 years, André has amassed a wealth of experience both locally and internationally in various portfolios in the energy space, including the management of coal, oil, chemical and gas businesses, the marketing of export coal to international utilities and managing operations of mega coal and gas conversion plants, including electricity generation. His experience and expertise traverses a range of disciplines, including: strategic leadership, sales, manufacturing, production, finance, legal & regulation, people management and socio-economic development. André holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands, a Bachelor of Law(LLB) obtained from the University of South Africa (UNISA) as well as a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pretoria.

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, also leading business turnaround and transformation in Germany. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Nampak in 2014, a position he left  when he accepted the Group Chief Executive role at Eskom, beginning in January 2020 When often asked why he accepted the leading role at the beleaguered energy utility, André has consistently maintained that he believes the importance of Eskom in driving economic growth and development should never be underestimated, and is humbled to take up the challenge of restoring Eskom’s value-add, credibility and reputation. Deeply passionate about employee  engagement, André has made a concerted effort to consistently connect with people across the business and share the vision of the Eskom “city on the hill” - re-invigorating, rejuvenating and redefining Eskom’s destiny to lead the energy transition into the future in a sustainable manner, as well as the importance of high performance culture amongst employees, to make this a reality.

Portia Derby is the current Group Chief Executive of Transnet SOC Ltd, appointed February 2020. She has occupied senior positions in the South African government during a period of major economic reform. Portia is the former Director-General of Public Enterprises (2005 - 2009) responsible for the corporate strategy and structure of the investment portfolio (2004 - 2005) and former Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Trade and Industry (2002). Portia’s career in government started at the National Institute for Economic Policy (NIEP), as a financial researcher where she played an integral role working on the quantification of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). Portia previously served as a Non-Executive Director of Metair Investments and Safcol. She has also worked in the private sector as an Executive Director: Clients Africa at Aurecon, an international engineering and infrastructure advisory company. Portia holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree (majoring in Economics and Geology), an Honour’s degree in Economics from the University of Natal, as well as a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. 

Sandra started her career as an academic, lecturing company and tax law at the University of the Free State, before joining Johannesburg Law Firm Brink Cohen le Roux & Roodt. It was here that she became involved in the South African mining industry, working first on the labour side of the business, before moving on to the corporate and commercial end of practice. Sandra has been with Standard Bank for just over ten years and focuses exclusively on African corporate finance transactions in mining and metals.

Nolitha Fakude serves as the Chairman of Anglo American’s Management Board: South Africa as well as a Group Director of Anglo American plc and President of the Minerals Council South Africa. Nolitha served as a non-executive director of the Board of Anglo American plc from April 2017 to August 2019. Fakude has worked in and held senior positions in various industries and sectors including Retail, Management Consulting, Financial Services, Mining and Oil and Gas. Until 2016, Nolitha served as an Executive Director at Sasol Limited as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Sustainability. Nolitha was elected as the first woman President of the Black Management Forum (2003-2006) and its Managing Director and she now serves as the Chairperson of the Council of Elders. Nolitha is Non-Executive Director of JSE Limited, Discovery Bank Holdings and International Woman’s Forum South Africa (IWFSA). She is a Patron of Guild Cottage home for girls. Her previous board roles include serving as Deputy Chair and Lead Independent Director of Datacentrix Holdings Limited, and as a non-executive director of Harmony Gold and Woolworths Holdings among others. Nolitha’s honorary accolated include the 2004 Most Influential Businesswoman by Financial Mail, Impala Platinum Young Entrepreneur Award and the National Honor by the Golden Key Society and University of Johannesburg. Nolitha is an author of a book titled, “Boardroom Dancing”, published in 2019.She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Psychology from the University of Fort Hare and completed the Senior Executive Programme at Harvard Business School in the United States.

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).

Bobby Godsell worked for 34 years as an executive in the Anglo American group of companies.  For 12 of these, he was CEO of Anglo’s gold mining interests, in the form of AngloGold Ashanti.  He has also worked in government bodies, spending 5 years as a member of the National Planning Commission and a turbulent 15 months chairing the board of ESKOM.  He is currently a Director at the Industrial Development Corporation, Chairman of Foskor (Pty) Ltd and co-chairs the Millennium Labour Council, a social dialogue body involving business and labour leaders, with Godfrey Selematsela, President of FEDUSA.   With James Motlatsi, founding President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Bobby co-chairs the active citizens NGO, Citizens ZA.

Chris Griffith was appointed CEO of Gold Fields on 1 April 2021. Before this appointment, he was the CEO of Anglo American Platinum between September 2012 and April 2020 and CEO of Kumba Iron Ore from 2008 to 2012. Prior to that, he served as Anglo American’s Head of Operations for joint ventures. He joined Anglo American Platinum in 1990 and held various management positions at two of its mines before being moved into the wider leadership team at Anglo American. He holds a Mining Engineering Honours degree from the University of Pretoria.

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.

Riaan offers deep corporate and financial leadership experience, having served at the forefront of the creation of one of the largest BEE companies on the JSE as a champion for transformation. He possesses a blend of financial, commercial and legal skills which have proven successful in driving sustainable growth and financial vitality. Riaan has more than 20 years’ experience in large corporate senior financial and management roles. He is currently Director of Finance for a JSE top-40 publicly listed company. He has spearheaded several multi-billion-rand international acquisitions and has well-developed bank and investor relationship management skills.

Kgomtso specialises in guiding end-to-end technology solutions delivery and the management of application maintenance cycles for technology solutions, as well as digital programmes. Kgomotso played the role of Technology Services Lead at various key accounts within Accenture, supporting client CIOs and IM Managers in modernising and setting up new IT environments, maintaining current applications and software management. He is also a client account lead at key clients within the wider Accenture group. He has over 17 years of consulting experience and excels at transformational solutions sales as well as delivery across multiple sectors and geographies. Kgomotso has worked across public sector, mining, utilities, consumer goods industries and financial services. He has succeeded in large-scale digital and transformation deployments on six continents in countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, India, UK, Australia and the United States. Kgomotso is passionate about developing and leading talent. He is a member of the executive committee for Accenture in South Africa. He is also one of the executive sponsors of the mental matters wellness programme within the company. He holds a BSc: Biochemistry from the University of Witwatersrand and a Masters: Information Technology from the University of Pretoria. Kgomotso is also a Harvard Business School-certified Disruptive Strategist and participated in the Executive Development Programme from the University of the Witwatersrand. He is also a member of the Golden Key Society.

Jayne is the Partner in charge of PwC South Africa’s Sustainability and Climate Change department and ESG Lead for Africa, where she focuses on developing and delivering services in the areas of: sustainable development strategy, framework, practices, reporting and assurance; Sustainable Development Goals; integrated reporting and management; social and environment impact and outcomes measurement; safety, health and environment risk, performance and compliance; and climate change risk and resilience. Jayne is a Chartered Accountant by profession but has been working in the broad areas of corporate governance, sustainable development and climate change since 2002. During this time, she has worked across a variety of industries including mining, oil and gas, banking, insurance, telecommunications, technology, construction, real estate and state-owned entities. As part of her work she has also written various “thought leadership” articles for publication in the press, presented at numerous conferences, is co-author of The Company Director’s Handbook and contributed a chapter to SAICA’s Green II. She was also a member of the IOD Sustainable Development Forum, the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa (IRCSA) Working Group and the NBI’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainability. Currently she is a board member of the IRCSA and a member of the King sub-Committee on Climate Change.

Mr Samson Gwede Mantashe was born on the 21st of June 1955 in the village of Lower Cala in the then Transkei (now Eastern Cape Province). He cut his teeth as an activist in the Student Christian Movement (SCM). Minister Mantashe received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1997, where he also completed a Bachelor of Commerce Honours in 2002. He holds a Masters’ degree from the University of Witwatersrand (WITS), acquired in 2008. He is currently studying for his Masters’ in Business Administration through MANCOSA. In 1975 he was employed as the Recreation Officer at the Western Deep Levels mine and, in the same year, moved to Prieska Copper Mines where he served as the Welfare Officer until 1982. Working at the Matla Colliery in 1982, Mr Mantashe co-founded and became the Witbank branch chairperson of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), a position he held until 1984. In 1985, he was elected as the NUM Regional Secretary. A skilled mineworker and leader, Mr Mantashe served as the NUM’s National Organiser from 1988 to 1993; and became the Regional Coordinator between 1993 and 1994. From 1994 to 1998, Mr Mantashe served as the Assistant General Secretary of the NUM, whereupon he was elected as the first worker General Secretary at the union’s congress in 1998.

For his first stint in government, Mr Mantashe was elected Councillor in the Ekurhuleni Municipality in 1995 where he served until 1999. In 1995, he became the first trade unionist to be appointed to the Board of Directors of a Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed company, namely, Samancor. In May 2006, he relinquished his position as the General Secretary of the NUM at the union’s 12th National Congress. In the same year, Mr Mantashe was appointed as the Executive Director at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) where, for a period of two years, he served as the Chairperson of the Technical Working Group of the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA). In 2007, Mr Mantashe was elected as the Chairperson of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and also served as a member of the Party’s Central Committee. In December 2007, he was elected as the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) at the party’s 52nd National Conference. He was re-elected to the same position in 2012. At the ANC’s 54th National Conference, in 2017, Mr Mantashe was elected as the National Chairperson. Mr Mantashe was appointed Minister of Mineral Resources in February 2018. Following the 6th democratic elections in 2019, and with the expansion of the Ministry to include Energy, he was appointed as the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy in May 2019 where he currently serves.

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.

Mashego joined Harmony in 2005 in the human resources discipline. He has since been responsible for a variety of portfolios at senior management level and as an executive. These include Human Resources Development, General Manager at Evander, Human Resources Executive and Government and Stakeholder Relations. Mashego was appointed an Executive Director on 24 February 2010. He represents Harmony on a number of boards as a director including the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), Enactus and the Rand Refinery where he is also the Chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee.

Michael (Mick) James McMullen brings more than 28 years of senior leadership experience in the exploration, financing, development and operations of mining companies globally.  He is CEO and Director at Metals Acquisition Corp, a NYSE-listed SPAC that recently raised $265 million to acquire a business in the metals and mining space. Mick recently served as the CEO and President at Detour Gold Corporation (“Detour”), a 600,000 ounce per annum gold producer in Canada from May 2019 to January 2020. During his tenure, Mick took the market capitalization from C$2.1 billion to C$4.9 billion over 7 months, which represented an internal rate of return of 208%, leading to the acquisition by Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. in 2020. Prior to Detour, Mick served as CEO at Stillwater Mining Company (“Stillwater”) from December 2013 to May 2017 and as Technical Advisor from May 2017 to December 2018, where he was instrumental in the increase in market capitalization from US$1.3 billion to US$2.2 billion against a 10% fall in PGM prices over the same time. Mick also served as a Non- Executive Director at Stillwater from May 2013 to December 2013. Stillwater was sold to Sibanye Gold Ltd. in May 2017 in an all-cash deal valued at US$2.7 billion, which represented an internal rate of return of 16% during his 41-month tenure. Mick’s time before Stillwater involved the identification, acquisition, development, and operation of a variety of mining assets across North and South America, Europe, Australia and Africa. These ranged from gold to base metals and bulk commodities. In addition, he has provided technical and financial advisory services to many of the larger PE funds, activist funds, and banks providing mining finance. Mick is a qualified Geologist and received his B.Sc. from Newcastle University in 1992 and has been a Non-Executive Director at Venturex Resources Limited (“Venturex”), an ASX-listed base metal developer, since February 2021. Since May 2021, he has served as a Non-Executive Director at OceanaGold Corporation, a dual-listed ASX-TSX gold miner with operations in the US and New Zealand.

Brian Menell is a British/South African industrialist and investor with natural resource and energy interests across both emerging and developed markets.  He is the Chairman and CEO of TechMet Limited, a private industrial company building a portfolio of world-class assets to secure supply of the metals critical to EVs and renewable energy systems.   The company is focused on projects which produce, process or recycle these “technology metals”, and currently has operations in North America, South America, and Africa. Brian serves as a Director of Tinco Investments Ltd, an integrated Tin and Tungsten producer in Rwanda, and is the Chairman of Brazilian Nickel Ltd, building a nickel/cobalt mine in northern Brazil. He is also a Director of Li-Cycle, the biggest lithium ion battery recycler in North America and serves as a Director of US Vanadium, a vanadium-specialty chemicals company in the US. Brian is a former Principal and Executive Director of Anglovaal Mining (AVMIN) with extensive base metal, precious metal and ferrous metal interests across southern Africa and a former Director of Anglovaal Ltd, a diversified industrial and mining holding company. Prior to Anglovaal, Brian spent 8 years with the De Beers Group.

Tsundzukani (Tsu) Mhlanga joined ARM in July 2020 as Chief Finance Officer and was appointed as Finance Director in October 2020. She has over 15 years’ financial experience and was previously Executive Director: Group Finance And Administration of Italtile Limited. Prior to that, Tsu was a financial director in the property sector and spent six years in the mining industry as Chief Financial Officer and Group Manager of Finance for a mining joint venture. In addition, she gained experience in the retail and public sectors after completing her articles at Edcon. Tsu has a BCom (acc sciences) from the University of Pretoria, a BCom (acc)(hons) and CTA from the University of KZN, she is a CA(SA) and she has an MBA from the University of Cape Town.

Anik is Group Director – Corporate Relations and Sustainable Impact, having joined the GMC in 2015. Her remit includes corporate communication (including brand and employee engagement), international and government relations, social performance and engagement, sustainability integration to drive positive impact from the Group’s Sustainable Mining Plan and the office of the Chief Executive. Anik joined Anglo American in 2008 as Group Head of Corporate Communication. Prior to that, she was Director of Public Affairs for Rio Tinto Alcan, following 10 years with the Alcan group. Anik was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Anglo American Platinum in July 2021.

Themba Mkhwanazi was appointed CEO of Kumba Iron Ore in September 2016. Prior to that, he held the position of CEO for Anglo American’s Thermal Coal business in South Africa. He has extensive experience in the resources industry, including 18 years in his native South Africa, as well as in the USA and Australia. Themba was a Managing Director of Huntsman Tioxide in South Africa until 2007 when he was appointed COO of Richards Bay Minerals, a joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. In 2011, Themba was seconded to Rio Tinto’s Australian coal business, before taking up the role of Regional General Manager for the Americas in 2012. Themba holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Chemical Engineering

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the Former United Nations Under-Secretary- General and Executive Director of UN Women. She was sworn into office on 19 August 2013. During her tenure, UN Women was a small agency which grew to raise $40 billion for women and girls of the world. She brought a wealth of experience and expertise to this position, having devoted her career to issues of human rights, equality and social justice, working in government and collaborating with private sector and civil society. Before that she was a teacher in South Africa, worked with World YWCA in Geneva where she established the first global young women’s programme. She also established a chapter of World University Service in South Africa which promoted access to education in South Africa. Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka did her bachelor’s degree at the National University of Lesotho and Masters at the University of Cape Town in 1998. She did a gender planning course at University College London and completed her PhD on education and technology at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom in 2013. From 2005-2008, she served as Deputy President of South Africa. She served as the Minister of Minerals and Energy from 1999 to 2005 and Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry from 1996- 1999. She was a Member of Parliament from 1994-1996 as part of South Africa’s first democratic Government. She is the Founder of Umlambo Foundation, which assists with enhanced performance in poor schools and digital literacy and she is a Trustee of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

Vusi is currently the Sector Lead: Mining & Chemicals (Client Coverage) within the Nedbank Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) franchise. He has been at Nedbank in various roles for the last 11 years. Pre-banking he held positions as Treasury & Corporate Finance Manager for Total South Africa, Treasury Manager at Dunlop Tyres and Assistant Manager at KPMG. In a post-articles career spanning 21 years, he has been involved in various capacities on multiple transactions for a number entities in different sectors. Over the years he has been privileged to lead diverse professionals and teams in different geographies. Vusi holds an MBA from Wits Business School, a Diploma in Advanced Banking from the University of Johannesburg and a B.Com degree from the National University of Lesotho, a Certificate in Professional Leadership Coaching from Wits Business School and has been on executive advancement programmes with Total South Africa and Nedbank. He is registered with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants as an AGA (SA), as a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers of Southern Africa (ACTSA) and as a Professional Leadership Coach for Masters’ students at the Wits Business School.

Mzila is a mining engineer with combined experience in mining and investment banking of 20 years. This includes seven years in deep-level gold mining at AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields Limited in senior mine management and corporate development roles, respectively, and six years in investment banking at RMB and Deutsche Bank. His knowledge of business sustainability was honed over six years as Executive: Business Sustainability at Royal Bafokeng Holdings and Royal Bafokeng Platinum. He assumed his current role in May 2013. Mzila also serves as the 2019/2020 President of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).

Dr Mufamadi, PhD and MSc, is the Director of the School of Leadership at the University of Johannesburg and he serves on the board of Impala Platinum Holdings Limited, Zimplats Holdings Limited and Transnet (SOC) Ltd. He also serves on subsidiary boards of Barclays Bank Africa Group in Mozambique and Tanzania.  He has built his reputation in various leadership positions including being a previous Minister for Safety and Security and Minister for Provincial and Local Government in the Government of the Republic of South Africa, and is known for his mediation and conflict resolution skills as well as his expertise in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. In 2019, The President of South Africa appointed him as chairman of a high level review panel into the operations of the State Security Agency.

Lebogang Mulaisi works as the Labour Market Policy Coordinator for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). Her responsibilities and duties include the coordination and implementation of COSATU labour market policy and work on the just transition to a low-carbon economy.

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.

Jay was the founding General Secretary of COSATU, a Minister in Nelson Mandela's Cabinet, is currently a trustee for Earthrise Trust looking at new models of rural development and livelihoods. Jay sits on the board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that looks at leadership and governance in Africa and remains committed to social justice.

July Ndlovu is the CEO of Thungela Resources and a coal miner at heart. He was previously the CEO of Anglo American’s Coal business before it was demerged and listed on the JSE and LSE. After starting at Anglo American as a graduate trainee, in 2001, he transferred to Anglo American Platinum, where he was first appointed Business Manager of the Polokwane Smelter, then Executive Head of processing. He spent some time at Anglo American subsidiaries in Zimbabwe in several senior managerial positions in metallurgical operations, and technical services. While working to make a difference, July demands high standards and delivering on commitments; his leadership style is respectful and fair, serving and supporting the people he works with. July graduated with honours in Engineering and Business Leadership from the Universities of Zimbabwe and South Africa, respectively. He also completed the Columbia Business School's Senior Executive Programme. In 2020 July was appointed as the Chairman of the World Coal Association (WCA), tasked with ensuring that the organisation meets both customers’ needs and society’s expectations of it, including working together to deliver a new era of clean technologies.

Justice is an accomplished executive and has 22 years  of experience as a human resources generalist. He has worked at both strategic and operational HR levels across different industries, of which more than 12 years has been in the mining industry, having worked at African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Anglo American. He is currently working for Sasol Energy Business as the HR VP responsible for Sasol Mining. Justice’s HR passion covers, inter alia; strategic workforce planning, employee relations, HR development, talent management, transformation and organizational effectiveness, coaching and mentoring, HR analytics, technology and systems. In his thesis for his executive MBA with Guglielmo Marconi University, Italy, he conducted his research on “creating shared value: how can mining companies’ corporate policies and practices enhance company competitiveness and simultaneously advance community social and economic conditions”, which is relevant to the ESG and sustainability topics as a business strategic focus.

Paul is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He began his career at PwC in 1986 and served as an audit partner for 6 years. Since 2001, he has worked as both CFO and CEO in the listed company environment as well as public sector and in family-owned businesses. He has worked in South Africa across Africa as well as in the Middle East and the USA. From a South African perspective, Paul has served as the CFO of Group Five Limited as well as Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and was CEO of ArcelorMittal (South Africa) Limited. Paul has diversified industry experience including mining, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, trading, steel manufacturing and financial services. Paul also has experience as a non-executive director for listed companies in South Africa. Paul has in depth experience within corporates in public offerings and debt raising locally and internationally. He has been involved in turnarounds, restructurings, M&A, programme and project management including recently the overall responsibility for the $1bn separation of ABSA Bank Limited from Barclays PLC. Paul also has regulatory experience in Africa in the energy and financial services industries.

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.

Steve Phiri is an admitted attorney to the High Court of South Africa. His qualifications include a B Juris degree, University of the North; LLB, Vista University; Diploma in Corporate Law, Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and an LLM degree from the University of Johannesburg. Steve was appointed CEO of RBPlat in April 2010. Prior to this appointment he was the CEO of Merafe Resources, a public company listed on the JSE, for a period of six years. He has served as a non-executive director on the Board of Impala Platinum Limited and brings to RBPlat a significant wealth of mining and business experience, gained over a period of more than 15 years. He has also served as a non-executive director on the boards of Zurich Insurance Company SA and the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator. In 2017, Mr. Phiri was elected as one of the Mineral Council South Africa’s three Vice presidents.

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.

Hanré Rossouw has served as Chief Financial Officer of Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited since October 2018. Previously, he was a Portfolio Manager at Investec Asset Management covering precious metals and South African resource equities. Prior to that, Hanré was the Chief Financial Officer of Xstrata Alloys overseeing Xstrata plc’s chrome and platinum interests in South Africa. He joined Xstrata in 2004, and also held other senior roles in strategy, mergers and acquisitions and investor relations in London as part of the core team that built Xstrata into a global diversified mining company, subsequently acquired by Glencore in 2013. His mining career started as a graduate engineer at Anglo American plc (with experience at AngloGold and AngloCoal). Hanré later worked for De Beers and Accenture. Hanré graduated from Oxford University with a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He also holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree in Economics.

Lee-Ann joined Implats in October 2017 as Group Executive: People. In this role she provides strategic direction for the Human Resource discipline across the Group, including developing human resource policies in support of Group strategy and effectively managing external trends and other impacts on the HR function. Lee-Ann serves on the Implats Board of Directors, as well as on the subsidiary boards of Impala Platinum Limited and Impala Canada Limited. Lee-Ann has 20 years’ experience as an HR professional across various sectors including financial services, mining and telecommunications. Prior to joining Implats, Lee-Ann was a member of the Executive Committee at Gold Fields responsible for People and Organisational Effectiveness following a stint as the Vice President, Group Remuneration and Employee Benefits. Lee-Ann has also worked at Telkom Media, a subsidiary of Telkom, as Head of People and Organisational Development. She holds a BA Honours degree in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Johannesburg and is a WorldatWork (USA) Global Remuneration Practitioner (GRP).

Keith is a geologist with over 20 years’ experience in the mining industry, spanning the mining value chain from exploration and evaluation, to feasibility and production. He is a mineral exploration and evaluation specialist with extensive experience globally and across Africa in multidisciplinary minerals projects. This experience includes tenure and permitting, geology, mineral resources and reserves, mining, processing, infrastructure, risk and financial analysis, environmental and social governance. Keith is currently the CEO of Fraser Alexander and has sat on the board of a public mining company and on several private boards of mineral exploration companies.

Dion was appointed as Africa CEO of PwC on 1 July 2019. Prior to this he served a four-year term as the firm’s Southern Africa CEO, the first black African to be appointed to the role. Since being admitted to partnership in 2008, Dion has led engagements on complex and multinational businesses and has serviced a number of large listed clients mostly within the mining industry. He has extensive experience reporting under IFRS and of financial reporting in the mining industry. He is the former leader of PwC’s Energy, Utilities and Mining (EU&M) Group. In addition to his experience in the mining industry, he has also enjoyed exposure to other sectors and industries throughout his career, by virtue of being involved in the audits of companies and organisations such as the South African Reserve Bank, Vodacom and MonteCasino. In recent years, his client base has included Exxaro Resources Limited, Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited, Royal Bafokeng Platinum and Sasol Oil, among others.

Nhlanhla Sibisi is the Climate & Energy Campaigner with Greenpeace Africa for over four years. His work experience spans over a period of 24 years, in academia, the public and non-governmental sectors. Nhlanhla has, and continues to, work on issues covering policies on climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable development. Currently, Nhlanhla advocates for major carbon polluters and the government to take action to address the climate crisis. On the other hand, he also does awareness-raising with communities to educate people about climate change coupled with a solution-oriented approach to protecting the environment and human health.

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.

Natascha has served as Anglo American Platinum’s CEO since April 2020, also sitting on the Anglo American Platinum Board and the Group Management Committee of Anglo American plc. Prior to that, she spent five years as Group Head of Processing for Anglo American. Natascha is a seasoned senior executive, bringing 28 years of operational experience from across the mining industry, spanning many different countries, metals and minerals including, of course, the PGMs. Viljoen's operational executive experience also includes six years at Lonmin, where her last post was Executive Vice President of Processing. Viljoen holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from North-West University, in South Africa, and an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Cape Town.

A former COO of Barrick Gold Corporation from 2015-2018, Richard Williams is a global executive with an established track-record of value creation, pioneering and transformational leadership within the mining industry and other demanding assignments. Amongst other notable achievements, he helped Barrick deliver an 80% improvement in the company’s operating profit over his three years and the total overhaul of the company’s relationship with the Tanzanian Government following a breakdown of relations between a Barrick subsidiary and that government. Formerly the CEO of an African and Central Asian-focused exploration business and Non-Executive Director of Gem Diamonds PLC, he was also the Commanding Officer of the British Special Forces Regiment – the SAS. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Trevali Mining Corporation, Chair of Trevali’s HSEC Committee and an advisor to mining companies facing complex operational, political or ESG challenges. Richard has a BSc in Economics from University College London an MA in Security Studies from Kings College London and an MBA from Cranfield University.

Joanne Yawitch has been the Chief Executive Officer of the National Business Initiative since March 2011, having previously been Deputy Director General for Climate Change in the Department of Environmental Affairs with responsibility for environmental quality and protection, as well as for the Department’s climate change work. Joanne worked for the Gauteng Department of Environment from 1997 to 2004 and prior to that was Special Adviser to the then Minister of Land Affairs. Joanne is currently the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of South African National Parks and is a Board Member of SAFCOL as well as the Chair of their Social and Ethics Committee. In 2020 Joanne was appointed as a member of the inaugural Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission (PCCCC). The Commission advises on South Africa’s just transition to a low-carbon, inclusive, climate change-resilient economy and society, as well as providing guidance on matters of adaptation and mitigation. Joanne´s expertise lies within business and sustainability, business and government collaboration, climate change and climate change negotiations.

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.