The appointment of KwaZulu-Natal-born Brandon Craig to head the world’s largest mining house, BHP, adds to the high esteem in which South Africans are held in key mining jurisdictions around the globe.
Craig’s appointment as CEO designate of the A$246bn [R2.9-trillion] company comes shortly after compatriot Natascha Viljoen took over the helm of the world’s largest gold miner, Newmont, becoming the first woman to lead the group in its 104-year history. The US-based Newmont is worth about R2-trillion.
An engineering graduate from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he graduated summa cum laude, Craig takes over the industry’s most important job from Mike Henry, who will step down at the end of June.
Craig, a naturalised Australian, takes over the "Big Australian" at a time when mining supermajors are looking to copper deals.
Henry tried three times to buy Anglo American, looking to add its impressive copper portfolio to BHP’s books.
Anglo is run by South African Duncan Wanblad, who has gone on to clinch one of the biggest copper deals in recent times after he fended off BHP’s unsolicited approaches.
Wanblad, who presides over a company worth R833bn, is on the verge of sealing a merger with Canadian copper miner Teck in one of the biggest mining deals in more than a decade.
The mooted all-share merger will create a $53bn group, with scale and world-class copper assets that will allow it to credibly claim a top-five spot among the world’s biggest producers of the critical mineral.
Wanblad will remain the CEO of the merged group, to be called Anglo Teck after the deal jumps all the regulatory hurdles.
Anglo will own 62.4% of the merged group, with Teck owning the rest
The merged group will have its primary listing in London and secondary listings in Joburg and Canada, with a listing in New York also on the cards.
South African mining executive Gary Nagle, who heads Glencore, was recently involved in a failed mega tie-up with Rio Tinto — a deal that would have created the world’s largest mining group and biggest copper producer.
The scramble for copper assets comes amid huge consolidation in the copper industry, as mining majors look to take advantage of rising global demand for the metal, driven by the green energy transition.
Demand for copper, which is expected to increase by 50% by 2040, has risen 40% in the past year.
Craig, Viljoen, Nagle and Wanblad lead companies worth more than R7.5-trillion combined, putting them at the helm of deal-making in the industry.
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