July Ndlovu would step into his shoes as chief executive officer of Anglo American’s coal business in South Africa. 

Mkhwanazi, executive head of processing operations at Anglo American Platinum since 2007, would take over at Kumba following Norman Mbazima’s decision to step down after four years to focus on his role as deputy chairperson of Anglo American South Africa.

Ndlovu vacates the role of executive head of processing operations at Anglo American Platinum, which he has held since 2007. The two new appointments take effect on September 1.

Mark Cutifani, Anglo American chief executive, congratulated Mkhwanazi and Ndlovu on their new roles and thanked Mbazima for “his tireless work to reshape Kumba’s cost structures over the last four years to create what is a much more resilient business to weather the lower iron ore price environment”.

“Norman will now concentrate on how we deliver value through the restructuring and divestment of our non-core businesses in South Africa as we continue to explore all appropriate options, as we have been doing across our global portfolio of non-core assets,” Cutifani said.

Mbazima said: “I have been privileged to lead Kumba through what has been a tough period for iron ore and for South African mining. Together with the Kumba team, we have transformed the business to put it on a firmer footing, making the difficult but necessary decisions to ensure the business’ profitability and long-term health".

He added that looked forward to working closely with Mkhwanazi and Ndlovu as he considered “the optimal divestment path for Anglo American’s non-core interests in South Africa”.

For his part, Mkhwanazi said he was excited at the prospect of leading Kumba, which he described as “one of South Africa’s great success stories”.

Mkhwanazi said: “My energies will be focused on maintaining Kumba’s strong track records in safe production, mutually beneficial relationships and further increasing productivity to ensure the sustainability of the business for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”

Ndlovu said he was delighted at the prospect of leading Anglo American’s South African coal business, adding that had always admired the business’s resolute commitment to the safety and well-being of its employees, which would be his priority, adding that his immediate focus would be on operational performance.

Seamus French, chief executive of Anglo American’s bulk commodity business and to whom both roles report, said both Mkhwanazi and Ndlovu had “proven abilities in leading safe and productive complex operations at a time when cost competitiveness is critical to the sustainability of any mining business”.

French said: “Our priority for both businesses is to lead them safely through their divestment from Anglo American. We expect the price environment for both thermal coal and iron ore to remain under pressure and our operational focus is firmly on building upon the excellent work of the teams to date to further improve performance and value.”

ANA