
Craig Miller
CEO: Anglo American Platinum
‘We take a conservative view to make sure we are setting up the business for the long-term cycle’
THE ground is shifting under Craig Miller’s feet as his majority shareholder Anglo American started selling down its stake in Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) in 2024, ahead of a full unbundling of its formerly 79%-owned subsidiary in mid-2025. This will involve a secondary listing for Amplats in London. Divesting itself of Amplats is part of Anglo’s strategy to realise value for shareholders and rebuff another bid from BHP (or anyone else). The unbundling itself will be a complex process, involving disentangling Amplats from shared services within the Anglo group, but it could be completed as early as April.
It is not a new process for Anglo American, which did something similar with its coal mining operations in South Africa in 2021, now separately listed as Thungela Resources. Miller has sought to reassure shareholders that the core of the business will be unchanged. “There is no intention at this stage to look at other metals,” he said. After a torrid few years for PGM prices, investors are looking to the long-term prospects of a hydrogen energy economy for relief, where PGMs can fully adopt critical minerals status. This is the view that US investors are taking – in September, US investors took up about a third of the Amplats shares that Anglo American offered. For Miller, independence will throw the spotlight on his ability to deliver into strategy.
Theoretically, Amplats should become fleeter of foot in respect of new projects or closing or selling unprofitable assets. Whether this materialises will very much fall to Miller and his ability to grasp the nettle.
LIFE OF CRAIG
Miller became CEO of Amplats in 2023, after serving as CFO for four years. Before that, he spent nearly 20 years working for the Anglo American group in different parts of the world, including South Africa, and across a range of commodities from coal to iron ore. While at Anglo, he completed management programmes at GIBS and Harvard Business School. Craig holds a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences from Unisa and is a CA(SA). He started his career as a trainee at Deloitte in Johannesburg.