Who's in, who's out

Barrick created a new 'rest of world' chief executive post and gave it to former Randgold finance executive Sebastiaan Bock, putting him in charge of the group's mines in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Bock had been Barrick's COO for Africa and the Middle East since 2022 and was part of the team that settled the long-running Loulo-Gounkoto dispute with Mali, and his appointment comes as Barrick prepares a minority listing of its North American business.

Former Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive Neal Froneman became independent non-executive chair of Copper 360, replacing long-serving chair Rupert Smith, who retired from the board. The appointment of one of South Africa's best-known mining executives lifted the shares of the JSE's only pure copper play, which has been through heavy losses and repeated leadership changes.

Richards Bay Minerals said managing director Werner Duvenhage would leave on 31 July 2026 to take up an opportunity outside Rio Tinto. Duvenhage, who also headed Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium's African operations, ran Rössing Uranium in Namibia before moving to RBM, where he oversaw the restart of the Zulti South project.

Christine He resigned as MD and CEO of MC Mining, with chairperson Albert Deng stepping in as interim chief executive from 29 July 2026; He remains on the board as a non-executive director. The company linked the change to Kinetic Development Group taking control and to the commissioning of its Makhado hard coking coal project in Limpopo as it shifts from developer to producer.

Perseus Mining added geologist Tommy McKeith to its board as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect. McKeith has more than 30 years in mining leadership and development and previously headed global greenfield exploration and project development at Gold Fields.

Gemfields said Sean Gilbertson would leave as CEO and director on 15 July 2026 by mutual agreement with the board. The announcement came with a warning that lower ruby grades, security problems and unpaid VAT refunds at Montepuez in Mozambique would weigh on output and cash flow, and the JSE-listed share price fell to record lows the following week.

David Lovett, Gemfields' CFO for eight years, was named interim chief executive while keeping his finance responsibilities, as the board started looking for a permanent replacement for Sean Gilbertson. Chairman Bruce Cleaver said he would spend more time supporting management of the owner of the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique.

TSX-V-listed Lithium Africa appointed Dr Thomas Benson, a board member since April 2026 and head of global exploration at Lithium Argentina, as CEO from 1 July 2026. Co-founder Tyron Breytenbach stepped down as chief executive and director to become capital markets adviser to the explorer, which is hunting for lithium deposits on the continent.

AECI, the JSE-listed chemicals group whose AECI Mining division supplies explosives to mines across Africa, appointed former Reunert chief executive Alan Dickson as group CEO from 1 July 2026 after a formal search. Dean Murray, interim CEO since October 2025, stayed in the role until the end of June.

Africa-focused gold producer Perseus Mining appointed Wade Bickley as chief operating officer from 1 June 2026. Bickley, who will work from the company's Dubai office, brings more than 25 years in gold and base-metal operations in Australia, West Africa and southern Africa.

MC Mining, developer of the Makhado steelmaking-coal project in Limpopo, made Albert Deng non-executive chairperson from 19 May 2026. Deng joined the board in October 2025 and chairs a South African logistics company within Kinetic Development Group; he takes over from interim chair Mathews Senosi, who stays on as a director.

Ghana-focused gold producer Asante Gold named Campbell Baird acting CEO after Dave Anthony retired from the post on 11 March. Baird, who joined Asante earlier in 2026 to oversee its Ghana ramp-up, has more than 30 years' mining experience across Africa, Australia and North America; the appointment was announced alongside record quarterly revenue.

A presidential decree read on Congolese state television named consultant Baraka Kabemba as chief executive of state miner Gécamines, alongside former justice minister Deogratias Ngele Masudi as chairman. They replace Placide Nkala Basadilua and Guy Robert Lukama at a company that holds minority stakes in copper-cobalt joint ventures run by CMOC, Glencore and ERG.

Northern Cape copper producer Copper 360 named chief operating officer Gordon Thompson transitional CEO after Graham Briggs, who had led the company for about eight months, took a leave of absence. Seten Naidoo became chief commercial officer in place of Stephen du Plessis, the latest upheaval at a JSE AltX company that had just completed a R400m rights offer.

Barrick's board confirmed Mark Hill as permanent president and CEO, about four months after he stepped in on an interim basis following Mark Bristow's abrupt exit. The decision came alongside confirmation that Barrick would press ahead with a listing of its North American gold assets, a move that leaves its African operations in the rest of the group.

Newmont announced that CEO Tom Palmer would step down on 31 December 2025 and that South African-born Natascha Viljoen, its president and COO, would succeed him from 1 January 2026, making her the first woman to lead the company. Viljoen, a former CEO of Anglo American Platinum, now runs a group whose portfolio includes the Ahafo operations in Ghana.

Sibanye-Stillwater named long-serving executive Richard Stewart as CEO-designate from 1 March 2025, with a view to him taking over as chief executive when founding CEO Neal Froneman retired at the end of September 2025. Stewart, who had previously served as the group's chief operating officer, formally took the top job on 1 October 2025, ending Froneman's 12-year tenure at the gold, PGM and battery-metals producer.

Barrick said Mark Bristow had stepped down as president and CEO after almost seven years, and appointed Mark Hill, a Barrick veteran since 2006, as group COO and interim chief executive with immediate effect. The company gave no reason for Bristow's exit, which came as its Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali remained caught up in a dispute with the government, and the board began a search for a permanent CEO.

Rio Tinto chose its iron ore chief Simon Trott to replace Jakob Stausholm as group CEO from 25 August 2025. Among the challenges Trott inherits is bringing the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea into production, while Rio's African portfolio also includes Richards Bay Minerals in South Africa and QMM in Madagascar.

A cabinet reshuffle in Kinshasa made Louis Watum Kabamba the DRC's mines minister, replacing Kizito Pakabomba. Watum is a mining engineer who previously ran Kamoa Copper for Ivanhoe Mines and led development of Randgold's Kibali gold project, and he took the portfolio as Congo pursued a minerals partnership with the United States.

Thungela announced that founding CEO July Ndlovu would retire in 2025 on reaching the company's retirement age, and named De Beers mining executive Moses Madondo as CEO-designate from 1 August. Madondo, a mining engineer who began his career at AngloGold Ashanti, inherits the coal producer Ndlovu steered through its 2021 demerger from Anglo American.

Exxaro appointed former Lonmin chief executive Ben Magara as CEO from 1 April 2025, ending a period in which finance director Riaan Koppeschaar had acted in the role after the previous chief executive's departure. Magara, who already sat on Exxaro's board, was given a mandate to steer the coal and iron-ore group towards energy-transition minerals.