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At the beginning of January 2022, it was a woman who took the helm of one of the biggest iron ore businesses in Africa. The Anglo American company has appointed Mpumi Zikalala managing director of Kumba Iron Ore, in South Africa. At 43, she took the lead of a sector which this year has experienced difficulties.
Mpumi Zikalala has stood out for her commitment to defending the rights of women and minorities. In particular, she chairs the private sector forum of the South African National AIDS Council. Holder of a license in chemical engineering, she became the first female general manager at De Beers, before taking the helm of Kumba Iron Ore.
« As a black leader, my wish is that our society fully embraces inclusion and diversity and that there is a space where each person will feel valued for what they bring. “, she explains.
Barely named, Mpumi Zikalala has to deal with a drop in production of nearly 10% compared to last year. Various internal factors in South Africa explain this situation. She details them on SABC, the national television channel. « First, we experienced very high levels of rain in the first quarter. Second, we have also slowed down our production following a security intervention. For us, safety is an essential value. So yes, our production was down but we are now ready to run stable and efficient operations. »
The beginning of the year floods and the strike at Transet, freight specialist, contributed to the slowdown of activities in the country. A general slowdown in the South African mining sector which has consequences for the country’s economy, details economist and researcher Dick Forslund, Alternative information and developement Center. « Mining production has been on a downward trend for many years, both in terms of employment and value added to the economy. Industrial production in South Africa whether we take construction, manufacturing, mining, etc. the GDP contribution of all these industrial sectors to the real economy is lower today than it was in 2015. »
Global decline in steel production and prices…
A global drop in the production and prices of steel, but also of iron, nickel and aluminium… as detailed by Jean-Paul Mermet, specialist in these markets: “ The factories have put in considerable energy gains. Economic activity is not good overall. It only works in the United States. The Chinese have slowed down. And ultimately the declines in production did not compensate. The demand is not there. With a significantly lower steel consumption compared to what happened before in the industrial field, metallurgy, in the automobile. In Germany manufacturers have slowed their demand for metallurgical steel and aluminum copper considerably there is no market. So all of this creates an inversion. »
Covid, rising energy costs, disruption of supply chains also played a role in this trend.
Steel is still the future
However Mpumi Zikalala does not let herself be defeated and prefers to bet on the future… This is what she explained during a presentation last July: “ Steel is not only central to how we live today, it is also essential for the future. It is an essential component and catalyst for the energy transition for all renewable energy infrastructure and electric vehicles. Kumba’s high quality iron production puts us in a good position for this future development. »
The railway sectors and the production of energy parts such as power lines stabilized demand at the end of the year.