Page 29 - 100 years of Anglo American

The National Empowerment Consortium’s chief negotiator, Cyril Ramaphosa, and the then deputy chairperson of Anglo American,
Nicky Oppenheimer, after signing the Johnnic deal in August 1996
he rise of Anglo American was a
central feature of South Africa’s How the company
economy in the 20th century.
A hundred years after its
The country’s major black-owned and black- SPREAD IT
creation, the evolution of this
Tonce towering behemoth
continues to define the corporate landscape of
the new century.

run mining companies are rooted in Anglo
American assets.
Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Minerals Century-old mining colossus paved
has its origins in Anglo American’s disposal, in
1998, of a number of short-life gold shafts, the way for major BEE deals in
followed by more divestments in 2001 and 2003.
Exxaro, the major black mining group in South SA, writes Dewald van Rensburg
Africa today, was born out of a combination of
coal mines from Anglo American and rival BHP
Billiton to create Eyesizwe Coal in 2001. Eyesizwe Chamber of Mines president Mike Teke, will take “They have done their best to ensure that they
later took on the coal assets of what was then over Anglo American’s Eskom-supplying thermal bring in the best leadership at the top,” says
Iscor Mining, as well as more Anglo American coal mines in a R2.3 billion transaction. Teke, citing Anglo American’s famous bursary
assets in iron, mineral sands and zinc, to become Teke says: “Every time I walk into 44 Main schemes, which put a large part of the company’s
Exxaro. Street, Johannesburg, and I see that big portrait leadership, and the leadership of many other
Sipho Nkosi, the founding CEO of Exxaro, of Harry Oppenheimer, it is a story of legacy. For companies, through university in the 1980s and
says: “So, Anglo American and Billiton created me, that is exactly what I am doing now. 1990s. Black people have been brought into the
Eyesizwe as a junior mining company, and then “Nowhere else will you come across such an mainstream of the economy, and Anglo
Anglo American came back and said we can still influential transaction. We will effectively be American has been extremely supportive in that
make a bigger one. We’ll add coal, mineral sands, supplying Eskom with a quarter of its coal.” area,” says Teke.
zinc and all those things.” Anglo American’s approach to BEE has been “Look at Sipho Nkosi – he has had the
In 2008, Royal Bafokeng Platinum, controlled multifaceted, he says. opportunity to build a beautiful company called
by the Bafokeng nation, took control of the “It is not just disposal of assets. I love Anglo Eyesizwe, then Exxaro. He became a successful
Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine – an American’s Zimele model. It shows the company businessman and entrepreneur.
improvement on a joint venture with Anglo will help young entrepreneurs. It has done “Young people look up to Sipho Nkosi and
American dating from 2002. fantastic work.” Patrice Motsepe, and say they want to be like
Anglo American is this year busy Zimele, Anglo American’s small and medium- those people because they have done well.
consummating new deals in the coal and sized enterprise funding and mentoring arm, was “Our economy is about emancipation ... The
platinum sectors. Anglo American Platinum is founded in 1989 and supports a broad base of reality of the matter is that Anglo American has
selling its Union Mine to Siyanda Resources, small companies. Between 2008 and last year, it
while Seriti Resources, headed by former channelled R1.8 billion to 2 306 companies. CONTINUED ON PAGES 30 AND 31
ANGLO AMERICAN 100 YEARS 29