Top 10: Chief Operating Officers of Global Mining Companies

Several of the executives listed include the adoption of new technologies or growth initiatives among their responsibilities, demonstrating just how fast the pace of technological adoption is affecting managerial responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the traditional focus of the chief operating officer - maintaining production safely while managing costs, no matter how the orebody is depleting, or the unions are complaining - remains the same. 

Mining Digital has ranked 10 of the most influential mining chief operating officers today ranked by market capitalisation.

10. Marcelo Pereira, AngloGold Ashanti

Market capitalisation: US$50.44bn

Commodities: Gold 

Headquarters: Greenwood Village, Connecticut

Marcelo Pereira was appointed Chief Operating Officer of AngloGold Ashanti in June 2025. Marcelo joined AngloGold Ashanti in 2023 as SVP Latin America. Before joining the company, Marcelo held various senior leadership roles at companies including Vale, Kinross, Nexa, Taboca and Itafós. He has experience running large-scale underground and open-pit operations, extracting gold, copper, iron ore and zinc.

9. Carlos Medeiros, Vale

Market capitalisation: US$60.13bn

Commodities: Iron ore, nickel, copper, cobalt and PGMs

Headquarters: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Carlos Medeiros is a senior executive with demonstrable experience leading large transformation projects. As Executive Vice President of Operations, Carlos oversees Vale’s mining, pellet production and logistics operations. Carlos has international executive experience gained at Pilkington, NSG, SunEdison, Rexam and the Ball Corporation.

8. Sebastiaan Bock, Barrick Gold

Market capitalisation: US$70.03bn

Commodities: Gold, copper

Headquarters: Toronto, Canada

Sebastiaan Bock served at Chief Operating Office, Africa and Middle East in July 2022 after joining Barrick as SVP and Chief Financial Officer for Africa and Middle East in January 2019. Sebastiaan was appointed CEO of Barrick, Rest of World in August 2026.

7. Xavier Wagner, Glencore

Market capitalisation: US$89.88bn

Commodities: Copper, cobalt, zinc, nickel and ferroalloys 

Headquarters: Baar, Switzerland

Xavier Wagner has been Chief Operating Officer at Glencore since January 2024, where he is responsible for Glencore’s mining and other industrial operations. Xavier is an experienced mining professional with a background in coal and non-ferrous operations, gained at BHP and subsequently at Glencore, which he joined in 2018.

6. Natasha Vaz, Agnico Eagle Mines

Market capitalisation: US$102.57bn

Commodities: Copper, gold and molybdenum

Headquarters: Toronto, Canada

Natasha Vaz is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for Ontario, Australia and Mexico. Natasha joined Agnico Eagle Mines from Kirkland Lake Gold, where she served as Chief Operating Officer between 2021 and 2022. Natasha had previously served as Vice President, Technical Services for Tahoe Resources.

5. Cory Stevens, Freeport-McMoRan

Market capitalisation: US$109.46bn

Commodities: Copper, gold and molybdenum

Headquarters: Phoenix, Arizona

Cory Stevens is Senior Vice President; President and Chief Operating Officer – Americas at Freeport-McMoRan. Cory joined the company in 1998 and has occupied progressively more senior leadership roles within the company. Cory is currently responsible for driving operational and innovation initiatives within the company’s Americas division. Cory also leads Freeport’s engineering, construction and technical services organisation.

4. Ruben Fernandes, Anglo American

Market capitalisation: US$88.03bn (with Teck)

Commodities: Copper, Zinc and Lead

Headquarters: London, UK

Ruben Fernandes is currently Chief Operating Officer at Anglo American, where he is responsible for ensuring safe and responsible operations, optimising performance, future options and commercial value across Anglo American's portfolio. Ruben was previously regional director for the Americas, CEO of Base Metals and CEO of Anglo American Brazil. 

Prior to joining Anglo American in 2012, Ruben was previously head of mining at Votorantim Metals in Brazil. Between 2009 and 2011, Ruben worked in various capacities for two subsidiaries of Vale. Ruben will serve as COO of Anglo Teck once Teck’s upcoming merger with Anglo American is finalised.

3. Mark Rodgers, Newmont

Market capitalisation: US$128.29bn

Commodities: Gold, copper, zinc, lead and silver

Headquarters: Denver, Colorado

Mark Rodgers is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Newmont. Since joining Newmont in 2020, Mark has held a number of senior management positions across the portfolio, including Managing Director of Newmont’s Africa Asia Pacific division, and Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Papua New Guinea and Latin America and Caribbean. 

Prior to joining Newmont, Mark held leadership roles with BHP and Rio Tinto. Mark has over 30 years in the resources industry and is a seasoned senior leader.

2. Mark Davies, Rio Tinto

Market capitalisation: US$155.78bn

Commodities: Copper, aluminium, iron ore and lithium

Headquarters: London, UK and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Mark Davies was appointed to the Executive Committee in 2020 as Chief Safety & Technical Officer. Rio Tinto does not have a dedicated COO position on the Executive Committee. In that capacity, Mark leads Rio Tinto’s Safety, Development & Technical functions. 

Mark is accountable for Group-wide standards and assurance, covering safety, technical, and communities and social performance. In this role, Mark is also accountable for exploration, major capital projects, and managing closure legacy sites.

Mark joined Rio Tinto in 1995 as a Senior Mechanical Engineer and has worked in operational and functional leadership roles, including Iron and Titanium, Group Risk and Global Procurement.

1. Edgar Basto, BHP

Market capitalisation: US$213.83bn

Commodities: Iron ore, copper and metallurgical coal

Headquarters: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Edgar has extensive experience in the resources industry, with a long career spanning multiple commodities in technical, operational, safety and sustainability roles in Australia, Colombia, Chile and Peru. Edgar has served on BHP’s Executive Leadership Team as Chief Operating Officer since October 2022, where he has demonstrated a focus on keeping BHP’s people safe and well, operating excellence and breakthrough performance.

Most recently, he was the President for Minerals Australia, responsible for iron ore and nickel operations in Western Australia, metallurgical and energy coal in Queensland and New South Wales, and copper in South Australia.

Edgar is passionate about people, performance and partnerships - collectively combining to create long-lasting social value in communities around the world.