South32 appoints Noel Pillay as its new COO

Diversified miner South32 announced on Tuesday, September 22, that Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mike Fraser, responsible for the operations in Colombia and Africa, will depart from the business. Along with Jason Economidis, who will continue to serve as COO and be responsible for operations in Australia, Noel Pillay, currently serving as Worsley Alumina's vice president of operations, will be named as the new COO. He was appointed the COO in 2021 with the responsibility of handling operations in Colombia and Africa.

Noel Pillay was named the Vice President of Operations at Worsley Alumina in 2018, where he was responsible for the operation's cost, production, and safety performance. Mr Pillay began his career with BHP in 1994 as a maintenance engineer at Hillside Aluminium. He has held several leadership positions in South Africa and Australia in maintenance, production, business improvement, and human resources.

“Mike has been part of the South32 Lead Team since day one. His contribution to the company will be lasting and includes his roles securing power supply for Hillside to support the sustainability of the smelter, the roll-out of our energy efficiency technology at Mozal and unlocking value through numerous projects at Cerro Matoso. He has led initiatives across our business that underpins the stable and predictable performance at many of our operations. I would like to thank Mike for his significant contribution to South32 and wish him well for the future,” said Graham Kerr, the Chief Executive Officer of South32.