By Nelson Banya
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Exxaro Resources said it has appointed veteran mining executive Ben Magara as its new CEO following the departure of Nombasa Tsengwa, as the South African coal miner steps up its search for battery metals.
Magara, a former CEO of platinum miner Lonmin and a former executive at Anglo American, takes over in April from acting CEO Riaan Koppeschaar, who will resume his role as finance director.
The new CEO is expected to steer the coal miner amid declining profits due to lower prices for the fossil fuel as well as drive Exxaro’s strategy to buy manganese and copper assets, which are crucial to the green energy transition, chairman Geoffrey Qhena said in a statement.
Exxaro has made “good progress” on plans to buy manganese assets in South Africa, chief growth officer Richard Lilleike told Reuters. It has taken Exxaro longer to reach a deal due to the value that potential sellers attach to manganese mines, he added.
“I think there’s good alignment in looking at a transformational deal,” Lilleike said.
Exxaro will also target buying into copper exploration projects probably in Zambia due to the difficulty of bidding for mines amid competition from Chinese investors, Lilleike said.
Exxaro lost out to China’s MMG after bidding for Botswana’s Khoemacau copper mine in 2023.
“Our strategy has pivoted slightly to look at exploration opportunities,” Lilleike said. “Get in slightly earlier in prolific copper areas like Zambia where we can build up the next copper company.”
Exxaro’s profit declined to about 7 billion rand ($381.44 million) in 2024, from nearly 11 billion a year earlier. It cut its dividend to 8.7 rand per share from 10.10 rand previously.
Magara was CEO of platinum miner Lonmin when it was acquired by rival Sibanye Stillwater in 2019. He is succeeding Tsengwa, who resigned after being suspended by the board, which had initiated an investigation into her governance conduct.
($1 = 18.3516 rand)
(Reporting by Felix Njini in Johannesburg and Nelson Banya in Harare. Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Mark Potter)
