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EVP South Africa
While still in high school, Benford Mokoatle was inspired by a geologist at one of the Vaal Reef mines to pursue a career in geology. He augmented his qualification as a geologist, gaining knowledge in economics, developing business acumen as well as ethical, social and political awareness to ensure that he became a well-rounded individual.
After some 21 years in the mining industry, Benford joined Gold Fields and South Deep in October 2017. Here he sees his role as Vice President and Head of operations, not as a job but as a calling. It is a calling about driving a sustainable change, making a difference to people and giving hope where many have lost hope. He plays a leading role in turning around a mine that was accustomed to loss making, by driving change and influencing the culture to deliver on South Deep’s strategy.
Head of Projects
Andre Marais is Head of Projects at South Deep, responsible for providing the mining teams with the support they need, including placing of backfill, the shotcrete teams carrying work out in the de-stress areas, the secondary support teams, and the teams carrying out operations in the current mine area. He also oversees the execution of a number of capital infrastructure projects and the drawing office.
Andre Marais has a qualification in electrical engineering. He joined the South Deep team in 2008 to complete the shaft sinking and commence with the major construction work that was required for the production build-up and eventual steady-state production.
Head of Engineering
Over the past 26 years, Louis Turvey’s career has spanned several commodities including coal, iron ore and heavy minerals, and he has worked for a number of mining houses including Kumba Resources, Exxaro Resources, Total Coal, Xstrata Coal and Ticor South Africa. He has acquired broad leadership skills and has diverse technical experience in both opencast and underground mining processes, including in various beneficiation processes in coal mining as well as heavy mineral separation plants, slag and metal treatment plants and smelters. Louis was appointed Head of Engineering at South Deep in 2021.
Louis holds a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration (MBA), a Degree in Mechanical Engineering (B.Eng. Mech) and Government Certificates of Competency for both Mines and Factories and is registered as Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa. He is married with three children.
Head of Metallurgy
Stephen Joseph is a metallurgist by training, who began his career with JCI where he worked at its platinum and gold mining operations. He joined South Deep as a metallurgist in 2001. In his capacity as Head of Metallurgy he manages the gold plant, backfill plant and all surface infrastructure such as the pollution control dams and tailings storage facilities.
The Metallurgical Department is key to ensuring that mining can occur safely with maximum gold recovery and ensuring a sustainable environment to allow the mine to continue operating.
Head of Safety
Jacques is a seasoned professional with 38 years’ experience in the mining industry. He has a track record of performance in senior management positions and is widely regarded as an expert in his field. During his career, Jacques has worked for a number of mining houses including Impala Platinum, Vedanta Resources, Lonmin and AngloGold Ashanti. He also served as Deputy Chief Inspector of Mines for the Department Minerals & Energy.
Jacques holds a Masters’ Degree in Engineering, a Graduate Diploma in Engineering (Rock Mechanics) from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Mine Managers Certificate of Competency. He is married with three children. Jacques is an avid cyclist and marathon runner, and enjoys scuba diving.
Senior Manager Health & Environmental Engineering
Francois van der Walt began his career with AngloGold Ashanti in November 1993. He worked in various roles in safety, health and environmental engineering as well as senior management at a number of the AngloGold Ashanti’s largest South African mines. Francois joined South Deep in January 2017, and was appointed as Manager Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering in 2019.
Head of Technical Services
To date, Siyanda has built his career at De Beers group, occupying numerous leadership roles within the group locally, as well as in Canada, Angola and Botswana. His expertise spans the mining value chain and he has led organisational change through people, systems and processes. In addition to technical expertise, he also has experience in stakeholder engagement with organised labour, communities and contractors.
Siyanda holds several qualifications, including a Masters’ Degree in Mining Engineering, Honours Degrees in both Industrial Technology and Geology, and a Degree in Biology, Earth and Environmental Science. Other certifications he has earned cover the disciplines of project management and quality management.
Head of Mining
Roelof Niehaus started his mining career 20 years ago with Anglo American Platinum where he was involved in underground as well as open pit hard rock operations. He joined South Deep in 2016 where he has held numerous leadership roles in the mining department. As the Head of Mining, Roelof is responsible for developing and successfully executing the mining extraction strategy. The strategy ultimately aims to enable each member of the mining team to perform to their full potential but also to encourage teamwork amongst departments in line with our value of collaborative delivery.
Roelof holds a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration (MBA), a Degree in Mining Engineering (B.Eng. Mining), and a Mine Manager’s Certificate of Competence.
Senior Manager People South Deep
Steve Martin has extensive experience in leadership roles across multiple aspects of the human resources function, including organisation design and change management, talent and reward management, HR model design, and leadership development, and the governance functions related to each. He has spent most of his career within the minerals sector.
Having always had an interest in people development, a career in HR has afforded Steve the opportunity to truly make a difference. He recognises that South Deep has great potential to enhance the employee experience and instil an even more pervasive sense of pride amongst its people for being part of South Deep, and ultimately achieving the organisation’s business transformation aspirations.
Managing Counsel South Africa
Senior Manager Financial Operations SD
Stephan Fouche began his career with Gold Fields in 1996, as a financial clerk at the company’s St Helena mine in the Free State Province of South Africa. He gained further management accounting experience at the Group’s Beatrix and Driefontein mines eventually transferring to the Gold Fields Shared Services division.
Subsequently Stephan began working on ICT projects and contributed to the successful implementation of the SAP enterprise resource planning system. In 2010, he transferred to South Deep to take up a role as Unit Manager Management Accounting, and in 2019 he was promoted to Head of the Commercial Services department.
In this capacity, Stephan ensures that the financial strategy is achieved, that financial reporting is accurate and up-to-date and that capital and operational expenditure is value-adding. He is also responsible for financial governance and compliance and ensuring the correct and sustainable deployment of ICT systems, payroll activities and procurement and supply chain management.
General Manager
Grant Webber has worked in the mining industry for three decades, at a range of companies that including JCI, Harmony Gold, Lonmin Platinum, Sibanye Stillwater and now Gold Fields. He joined the South Deep Team in 2020 after spending four years working at the neighbouring Kloof mines.
As the Head of Mining, Grant is responsible for developing and successfully executing the mining extraction strategy. This strategy focuses on developing the competencies and capabilities of the mining teams and enabling people to perform to their full potential.
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