Top 10: Mining Leaders in Europe

Europe’s mining industry is entering a period of strategic importance. The region remains a major producer of construction and industrial minerals, including potash, kaolin, fluorspar and magnesite, while also producing copper, lead, zinc, chromium and silver. However, the European Union remains heavily dependent on imports for many metallic ores, with only a limited number of member states maintaining active metal mines.

That dependence is intensifying as demand grows for the minerals required for electrification, renewable energy, digital infrastructure and defence. Copper, nickel, lithium, iron ore and rare earth elements are increasingly viewed through both an industrial and geopolitical lens. 

European mining leaders must balance production growth with permitting, environmental protection, decarbonisation, community engagement and supply-chain resilience. Many are investing in automation, renewable power, resource efficiency, recycling and lower-carbon processing.

The executives featured below lead companies operating across mining, metals and mineral processing, and are helping shape Europe’s response to the global race for critical materials.

10. Dr Toralf Haag

Role: Chief Executive Officer, Aurubis
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Founded: 1866

Dr Toralf Haag has been CEO of Aurubis since September 2024. He joined the company’s executive board after a long career in industrial management, finance and corporate transformation. Toralf studied business at the University of Augsburg and completed a doctorate at the University of Kiel.

His early career included management positions within ThyssenKrupp and CEO responsibility for the Stamping & Frame Division of the Budd Company in the United States. From 2002 to 2005, he was CFO of Norddeutsche Affinerie, the company that became Aurubis. 

9. Eivind Kallevik

Role: President & CEO, Norsk Hydro
HQ: Oslo, Norway
Founded: 1905

Eivind Kallevik became Norsk Hydro’s President and CEO in May 2024, succeeding Hilde Merete Aasheim. He is the company’s 13th President and CEO since Hydro was founded in 1905.

Kallevik joined Hydro in 1998 and has held a succession of senior roles across finance, corporate management and aluminium. He served as Executive Vice President and CFO from 2013 to 2019 before becoming Head of Aluminium Metal, a position he held until taking the CEO role. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Norwegian Business School and a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco.

8. Christel Bories

Role: Chairwoman & Interim CEO, Eramet
HQ: Paris, France
Founded: 1880

Christel Bories is Chairwoman of Eramet and, since February 2026, has also served as Interim CEO. The company’s board appointed Christel to lead the group temporarily while a search for a permanent CEO takes place.

Christel previously held senior executive positions at Ipsen and other industrial companies, and is a graduate of HEC Paris. Her earlier tenure at Eramet was associated with efforts to strengthen the group’s mining and metallurgical portfolio and position it around metals supporting the energy transition.

7. Remigiusz Paszkiewicz

Role: President of the Management Board & CEO, KGHM Polska Miedź
HQ: Lubin, Poland
Founded: 1961

Remigiusz Paszkiewicz is President of the Management Board and CEO of KGHM Polska Miedź. He is an experienced manager specialising in the transformation and restructuring of large industrial organisations, particularly in infrastructure, railways and logistics.

Before joining KGHM, Remigiusz served as President of Grupa Przemysłowa Baltic and held senior positions at Slovenske Železnice–Tovorni Promet, ANWIL and PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe. 

At PKP, he was involved in major infrastructure and investment programmes and was recognised by the European Commission as Europe’s best infrastructure manager in 2014. 

6. Mikael Staffas

Role: President & CEO, Boliden
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Founded: 1924

Mikael Staffas has led Boliden as President and CEO since June 2018. He joined the company in 2011 as CFO before becoming Director of the Mines business area in 2015. 

Earlier in his career, he was CFO of Södra Skogsägarna and a partner at McKinsey & Company.

He holds an engineering degree from the Royal Institute of Technology and an MBA from INSEAD.

5. Johan Menckel

Role: President & CEO, LKAB
HQ: Luleå, Sweden
Founded: 1890

Johan Menckel became President and CEO of LKAB in the first half of 2026, succeeding Jan Moström. 

He joined the Swedish state-owned mining group after serving as Vice President and Investment Manager at Latour AB. He previously spent many years as CEO of industrial company Gränges and holds a Master of Science in Engineering from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Menckel leads LKAB at a pivotal time for both the company and European industry. LKAB is one of Europe’s leading iron-ore producers and has placed the transformation of the steel value chain at the heart of its strategy.

4. Iván Arriagada

Role: Chief Executive Officer, Antofagasta plc
HQ: London, UK
Founded: 1888

Iván Arriagada has been CEO of Antofagasta since 2016, leading one of Europe’s most important listed copper producers despite the group’s operational base being in Chile. 

Iván brings extensive experience from across the mining and energy sectors. Before joining Antofagasta, he was CFO of Chilean state copper company Codelco and held senior positions at BHP Billiton, including president of Pampa Norte and CFO of the base-metals division. 

Earlier in his career, he spent almost two decades with Royal Dutch Shell in finance and commercial roles across several countries.

3. Duncan Wanblad

Role: Chief Executive Officer, Anglo American
HQ: London, UK
Founded: 1917

Duncan Wanblad has more than three decades of international mining experience and has spent much of his career at Anglo American. 

He began as a junior engineer at Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company in 1990, later moving through technical, project, operational and strategic roles across Anglo American Platinum and the wider group.

Duncan became chief executive in April 2022. Before that, he was Group Director of Strategy and Business Development and served as CEO  of Anglo American’s base-metals business. 

2. Simon Trott

Role: Chief Executive, Rio Tinto
HQ: London, UK and Melbourne, Australia
Founded: 1873

Simon Trott became chief executive of Rio Tinto in August 2025, bringing more than 25 years of experience across operating, commercial and business-development roles. He joined Rio Tinto’s Executive Committee in 2018 and has held leadership positions covering a wide range of commodities and regions.

Before becoming CEO, Trott was CEO of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, the company’s largest and most profitable business. In that position, he helped reshape the division through greater financial discipline and improvements in operational and safety performance. 

1. Gary Nagle

Role: Chief Executive Officer, Glencore
HQ: Baar, Switzerland
Founded: 1974 

Gary Nagle is one of Europe’s most experienced mining executives, having spent more than two decades building his career at Glencore. He joined the business in 2000 as part of its coal development team and subsequently held senior roles across Australia, Colombia, South Africa and Switzerland.

Gary became CEO in July 2021, succeeding Ivan Glasenberg. His leadership covers one of the world’s most diversified natural-resource companies, with activities spanning metals and minerals marketing, mining, recycling and industrial operations. 

Glencore’s portfolio includes copper, cobalt, zinc, nickel, ferroalloys, coal and oil.