Roger Baxter will step down as CEO of the Minerals Council SA in early 2023, which will round off almost nine years at the helm of the mining industry employers’ organisation.
“Roger has led the organisation ... through momentous changes and challenging times, playing a key leadership role ... during this period of positive and transformative change,” Nolitha Fakude, president of the Minerals Council, said on Monday.
“It’s also time for new leadership at the Minerals Council to help take the industry to the next level and for me to start a new chapter,” she said.
Baxter will vacate his position when his contract expires in April 2023. He said he wants to spend time with his family after more than three decades of high-level advocacy and strategic engagement in the business and mining sectors.
The Minerals Council has already started the search for a new CEO-designate, who is likely to work alongside Baxter before his departure.
“It’s been a real privilege to have been afforded the opportunity to lead the Minerals Council through a remarkable period of change,” said Baxter. “I have been blessed with capable and dedicated Minerals Council colleagues and fantastic office- bearers who have given generously of their time and their advice to make sure I could do my best for our industry.”
Baxter went to school at Peterhouse Boys’ School in Zimbabwe and then studied economics at the University of Natal between 1985 and 1990, before the institution’s incorporation into the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He joined the then Chamber of Mines in 1992 and took a one-year break in 1999 to work in stockbroking, before returning to the chamber as its chief economist.
Leader
Baxter joined Rio Tinto for a year in 2011 before the chamber persuaded him to return in 2012. He was appointed as a senior executive in 2012, COO in 2013 and CEO in 2015.
The Chamber of Mines was renamed the Minerals Council SA in May 2018.
“Roger is a deeply respected leader in the mining sector and his ability to engage all stakeholders on critical issues is exemplary,” said Fakude.
“His knowledge of the economy and mining sector, and his ability to engage people on the facts has really helped shape a better outcome for the Minerals Council, the mining sector and economy.”
Baxter was involved in the first mineral policy discussions with the ANC in 1992, as well as the majority of significant mineral policy developments since then. He has often led business negotiation teams on issues ranging from the 2002 Mining Charter, the 1998 energy policy white paper, the 1997 Skills Development Act, the 2009 Royalty Act and the 2010 revised Mining Charter.
He previously chaired Business Unity SA’s economic policy committee and economic growth task team, and is the founding chair of the World Platinum Investment Council.
Baxter also played a key leadership role in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s seven-a-side Nedlac leadership team, which was tasked with finding ways to revive the economy in the wake of Covid-19.
“Under Roger’s leadership, the Minerals Council has become a real force to be reckoned with,” said Fakude. “We can collectively be immensely proud of the journey and successes achieved by the Minerals Council over the past nine years.”
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