ArcelorMittal Liberia has announced the appointment of Michiel Van Der Merwe as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for ArcelorMittal Liberia, who will begin his tenure on July 1, 2024.
A statement said Michiel will report to Kleber Silva, Executive Vice President of ArcelorMittal and Chief Executive Officer ArcelorMittal Mining, as outgoing CEO Jozephus (Joep) Coenen announces his retirement.
Michiel is said to be a senior mining executive with over 25 years of experience in the mining industry specializing in operations, processing, mine planning, and projects. After graduating in 1996, from the University of Pretoria with a Bachelor of Engineering in extractive metallurgy, Michiel joined Anglogold Ashanti’s graduate programme, progressing from senior plant metallurgist to metallurgical engineer by 1999.
He then proceeded to several senior roles in the mining industry, holding positions in Mali, commissioning the Morila gold mine, in South Africa, and managing several plants, before moving to Sylvania Resources in 2010 as Chief Operations Manager. From 2012, Michiel was a General Manager with Gold Fields Ghana Ltd, before progressing to the Vice President of Operations role in January 2023, overseeing the Tarkwa and Damang operations.
ArcelorMittal Liberia in the statement, wishes Joep Coenen all the very best in his retirement and thanks him for his leadership.
Michiel added: “I am looking forward to getting started and spearheading the next chapter of the Phase II Expansion project. It is a privilege to be entrusted with leading ArcelorMittal Liberia at a time of such rapid growth, and I look forward to working with our stakeholders to deliver a project of such great significance to the country.”
Commenting, Kleber Silva, EVP, and CEO ArcelorMittal Mining said: ‘‘I want to wish Michiel a warm welcome to ArcelorMittal Mining. He brings deep project, operations, and Africa experience that will be critical as ArcelorMittal Liberia progresses toward the remaining stages of the Phase II Expansion project. I am looking forward to working with Michiel to drive the growth and development of our site and with our stakeholders. Finally, I would like to thank Jozephus (Joep) Coenen for his significant contribution and leadership of ArcelorMittal Liberia, we wish him the best in his retirement.”
