DRA Global, the privately-held engineering company, has scored a coup announcing on Tuesday it had hired former Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman.
Froneman, who left Sibanye-Stillwater on September 30, has been employed as senior strategic advisor to DRA Global, effective October 1.
Said Froneman: “I look forward to working with the team to develop new opportunities and to contribute to the next phase of DRA’s global growth.”
DRA Global said Froneman would work with existing and new clients as well as identify and develop new business opportunities. DRA is seeking to expand its “presence” across Africa, the Americas, Australia “and other key markets”, the company said in a statement.
“His appointment strengthens DRA’s commitment to building a technically excellent, client-focused organisation with deep operational insight and global reach,” it said.
Froneman has had a storied career in South African mining firstly as the founder of Uranium One which he propelled to the one of the four largest producers of the mineral globally. He founded Gold One which later became Sibanye-Stillwater, one of the world’s largest producers of platinum group metals.
He announced his impending departure from Sibanye-Stillwater in February in line with the company’s mandatory retirement age of 65 years. In addition to today’s announcement, Froneman has also been connected with a push to return Formula One motorspot to South Africa, backing a new business venture for the Western Cape.
“Neal’s appointment represents an important step in strengthening DRA’s strategic leadership and marks a significant milestone in our evolution as a global engineering and project delivery business,” said James Smith, CEO of DRA Global.
DRA Global’s attempts to expand its international reach got off to a disastrous start soon after it took a primary listing in Australia in early 2022. About six months after listing, three of DRA’s senior managers, and a fourth former employee with shares in the company, secretly plotted a takeover, returning board control to South Africa, aptly titled “Project Boomerang”.
In January this year, DRA delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange and the JSE ahead of a ‘merger’ with Apex Partners, an investor in mining services and equipment suppliers. Competition Commission approval for the merger was granted in May.
