JOHANNESBURG – Two Anglo American officials are among seven named to the annual 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining list last month, the company said on Thursday.
Dineo Phaladi, a mine overseer at Anglo American subsidiary Kumba Iron Ore's Kolomela mine, and Nompumelelo ‘Mpumi’ Zikalala, the deputy chief executive officer at De Beers Consolidated Mines, were selected from nearly 650 nominations from around the world.
The pair were picked for persevering in the face of adversity, finding solutions to challenges and empowering others by being a voice and role model for diversity and inclusion, Anglo American said.
The list aims to showcase the range of female talent within the global mining industry and to identify inspirational role models to encourage future generations of women to consider mining as a career choice.
Phaladi was appointed as the first female mine overseer at Kolomela earlier this year – a role in which she ensures the health and safety of 120 people while achieving production targets.
Mpumi Zikalala, the deputy chief executive officer at De Beers Consolidated Mines, is one of seven Anglo American employees included in the annual 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining list. PHOTO: Supplied by Anglo American
"A platinum belt has been identified in the community where I grew up in. My life and career will come full circle when I will be able to safely extract mineral wealth from a farm that my great grandparents used to cultivate for an agricultural benefit,” she said.
Zikalala originally wanted to be a medical doctor but was lured into mining.
"I stay in mining because of the work we have driven to improve people’s lives through our product, our communities, our environment and working with committed De Beers employees,” she said.
The other five Anglo American employees who made the 2018 list were Botswana-born Malebogo Mpugwa, the head of talent for Anglo American in the UK, Ana Sanches, the chief financial officer for Anglo American Plc – Iron Ore and Nickel in Brazil, Tracey Kerr, Anglo American’s UK-based group head of safety and sustainable development, Dr Carmen Letton, head of open-pit mining in Australia and Susanna Woodward, a diamond revenue analyst for De Beers in the UK.