SOUTH Africa’s Minerals Council said Paul Dunne would continue as caretaker president until the organisation’s annual general meeting in May.
This follows the resignation of Minerals Council president Nombasa Tsengwa from her role as CEO of Exxaro Resources.
Tsengwa notified the council in December that she would “temporarily stand down” while Exxaro led an investigation into allegations against her including claims of workplace bullying. Tsengwa had been suspended and on February 6 she resigned from the company.
“At the Minerals Council, Paul Dunne will continue to serve as caretaker President until the Annual General Meeting in May this year,” said the council. “Mr Dunne took up the position in December 2024 after Dr Tsengwa requested the Minerals Council Board to allow her to temporarily stand down from the role of President.”
Tsengwa’s resignation has raised questions about the coal company’s board, according to a report by Business Times.
Citing Yonelisa Petse of Aeon Investment Management, the newspaper said Tsengwa’s exit was “not good for the company” and could negatively influence merger and acquisitions planned by the company.
Commenting in her resignation statement Tsengwa said the investigation launched by Exxaro’s board was biased. She also revealed the board was linking alleged conflicts of interest related to her personal life to the investigation.
“This situation raises questions about the board’s oversight and why these issues weren’t addressed earlier,” Petse told Business Times. “The oversight of the board has been brought into question with all the allegations which may or may not have credence,” Petse said.
Petse said he anticipated investors would exercise caution when dealing with the company. “While the company’s survival is unlikely to be threatened due to its essential role in the energy sector, investor caution is anticipated, potentially leading to a governance overhang, increased M&A risk and valuation impacts,” he said.
While led by Tsengwa, Exxaro said it wanted to diversify from coal into other commodities. Tsengwa told Bloomberg News in October the company was interested in buying into South African manganese assets.
“We are actively doing due diligences across a number of commodities in a number of jurisdictions and making good progress,” Tsengwa said at the firm’s interim results presentation in August. In her interview with Bloomberg News, she said: “We believe that the manganese industry requires a South African champion”.
Petse’s criticism echoes that of Peter Major, a director of Modern Corporate Solutions who told Miningmx in January that Exxaro was hamstrung by bureaucracy. There are 16 people on the board, six more than at Anglo, a diversified miner with a R755bn market capitalisation against Exxaro’s R62bn.
“Boards are sometimes not conducive to quick decision-making, especially one as big as the Exxaro board. They find more reasons not to do a deal than do it,” said Major.
