In her last presentation to Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Carroll reminded delegates that she’d been forced to withdraw the previous year due to a horse-riding accident.
“I am now firmly back in the saddle and I may be handing over the reins of Anglo American but I can assure you I have no intention of riding off into the sunset any time soon,” she said.
Carroll reiterated Anglo’s commitment to South Africa.
“Anglo American has this great country running through every strand of its DNA,” she said.
But after the deadly strike action of last year, she warned that there was no future for any society without law and order.
“Violence and criminality are always unacceptable,” Carroll said.
“We must never go back to those days again.”
Anglo was severely affected by strike action last year, not just in its platinum division but also its iron ore business.
It resulted in a restructuring of the platinum business, which Carroll described as an “industry in crisis”
The restructure could result in the loss of up to 14,000 jobs, which Carroll described as “painful and difficult”, though part of the plan was to create just as many jobs.
“The boards of Anglo American and Anglo American Platinum are totally committed to a sustainable platinum business. Unsustainability will ultimately serve no one,” she said.
“The proposals include what I believe to be the most comprehensive and imaginative social plan created by any company in any sector in South Africa.
“We are determined both to create a truly sustainable Anglo American Platinum business for the future and to do so in a way that is beneficial to all our stakeholders.”
Reflecting on her six years at the helm of Anglo, Carroll said she was proud of what the company had achieved.
Shabangu used part of her opening address to pay tribute to Carroll, who she described as a “friend and colleague”
“Thank you very much for being one of the women who has been a lighting torch,” she said.
She said Carroll was an inspiration to young women.
“You’ve set the stage,” Shabangu said.
“I am proud that nothing is impossible for women.”
Carroll will leave Anglo at the end of next month, with current AngloGold Ashanti boss Mark Cutifani last month appointed as her successor.
“I will soon be handing the baton to my good friend Mark Cutifani – someone who I know shares the values and the beliefs I have talked about today.
“Mark – this is a great company and you will have my very best wishes as you lead it forward,” she said as Cutifani looked on in the audience.
“For my own part, wherever the future takes me, I will always remain a passionate ambassador for Anglo American, for the mining industry and for South Africa itself.”
