Gold miner Harmony Gold Mining Company has appointed Beyers Nel to succeed Peter Steenkamp as CEO, with effect from January 1. Floyd Masemula has also been appointed deputy CEO from January 1, owing to the importance and the focus that is required for the South African mines.

Steenkamp, who was appointed CEO nine years ago, will retire at the end of December.

Nel has been with Harmony since 2003 and held various positions, most notably that of COO of South Africa since 2016. He was appointed Group COO in January 2023.

He has 24 years’ experience in the gold mining industry during which he had various operational, management and executive responsibilities; on opencast, deep and ultradeep level mines. He is past president of the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa and serves as chairperson of the board of the Mines Rescue Services.

He has a mining engineering degree from the University of Pretoria and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Masemula is currently executive: operating officer of the South African operations. His primary responsibility will be to continue his current leadership of the South African operations. 

He has two decades of experience in various operational, management and executive roles in the gold and platinum mining sectors; covering diverse mining methods including ultra-deep level, pillar and opencast mining.

Prior to joining Harmony in July 2023, he held the positions of senior VP and head of mining at Sibanye-Stillwater’s platinum division.

Masemula was previously regional general manager at Harmony’s Kusasalethu, Doornkop and Kalgold operations and also occupied various general manager roles at AngloGold Ashanti. He served two terms as a council member of the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa.

He is a qualified mining engineer and has an MBA from Wits Business School and also obtained various other management qualifications.

In welcoming Nel and Masemula, Harmony chairperson Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “Beyers Nel will provide operational continuity along with strong mining leadership and will continue with the excellent work and results that Harmony has been producing under the capable leadership of Peter Steenkamp. Beyers and Floyd, together with the world-class management team at Harmony, will provide operational leadership during the next exciting growth phase of the company.

"I also want to express my deep personal gratitude and the gratitude of the Harmony board, its shareholders, employees and stakeholders to Peter Steenkamp for the outstanding leadership that he has provided as CEO of Harmony since 2016. We wish Peter everything of the best with his new endeavours and he will forever be part of the Harmony family.”