South32 COO Noel Pillay
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner South32 on Tuesday announced that COO Mike Fraser, who has accountability for the African and Colombian operations, would leave the company.
Current VP of operations at Worsley Alumina, Noel Pillay, will be appointed as COO, alongside Jason Economidis, who will remain COO with accountability for operations in Australia.
Pillay will return to South Africa to allow for a handover period with Fraser.
“Fraser has been part of the South32 lead team since day one. His contribution to the company will be lasting and include his roles in securing power supply for Hillside to support the sustainability of the smelter and the roll-out of our energy initiatives across our business, underpinning the stable and predictable performance at many of our operations,” said CEO Graham Kerr.
“Pillay has extensive experience from over 25 years at our operations where he has held various leadership roles. At Worsley Alumina, Pillay led improvement initiatives that have enabled the refinery to achieve record production in 2021, operating above nameplate capacity for the first time while also overseeing an improvement in safety performance.
“Prior to Worsley, Pillay was VP of operations at Hillside Aluminium. He will bring considerable operating expertise to his leadership of our operations in Africa and Colombia, and as a member of the South32 lead team,” said Kerr.