The South African woman leading the world’s largest gold company

Natascha Viljoen is one of the biggest names in the mining industry, and is now set to take over as CEO of the world’s biggest gold miner, United States-based Newmont.

With decades of experience across the industry, Viljoen has worked for some of the biggest companies in the world, and demonstrated impressive business leadership even during difficult conditions.

Growing up in a mining family, Viljoen’s interest in the industry started from a young age. “Mining is in my blood,” Viljoen told the Dig Deep Mining Podcast.

Her father worked as a winding engine driver for gold mines. As a schoolgirl, she would accompany him on his night shifts, which instilled a deep respect for the industry and its people.

After her father had completed his normal tasks, they would walk onto the bank area. Viljoen explained that she would “smell the explosives, see the settling dams that always looked like cool and calm waters”.

“I think that energy has started to resonate with me and it created a bit of a curiousness about what this is all about,” she said.

Years later, Viljoen went on to obtain a Bachelor of Engineering degree in extractive metallurgy from the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (now North-West University).

She also graduated with an executive management MBA from the University of Cape Town. In 1991, Viljoen started her career as a trainee engineer at state-owned steel producer Iscor (today, ArcelorMittal).

She went on to work for BHP’s coal and chrome businesses in South Africa, the Modikwa joint venture between Anglo American Platinum, African Rainbow Minerals, and AngloGold.

One of her roles included the general manager position of BHP’s Klipspruit Colliery. As her next venture, Viljoen went to work for platinum miner Lonmin.

She worked there for six years, and was mainly responsible for the process division – concentrators, smelting and refining. She was also responsible for sustainability, environment and health.

It was in 2014 that Viljoen made the move to Anglo American, where she worked across commodities as group head of processing.

Anglo American

In April 2020, Viljoen became the CEO of Anglo American Platinum (now Valterra), the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, and was a member of the Anglo American Group Management Committee.

While this was an excellent step in Viljoen’s career, being named CEO right as the Covid-19 lockdowns hit also presented many challenges, both personal and professional.

“Personally, my biggest challenge was that I got locked down in South Africa and my entire family got locked down in Australia,” she said.

Viljoen had always said that she never wanted to live in Johannesburg, and yet, that was exactly where she was stuck. Professionally, she also had to make decisions in a world where no one knew what was going to happen next.

“We also didn’t have any income and with a hard lockdown, most of our businesses obviously came to an end and the mining industry was stopped as many other industries were,” she said.

They had 24,000 of their own employees and another 7,000 contracting employees that they were accountable for.

Viljoen had to find a way to achieve long-term sustainability, protect the company’s balance sheet, and make sure that the employees were protected.

She managed to keep paying all of the employees throughout lockdown, and eventually navigated reopening mines in a way that was slow and deliberate.

The company also ran into another issue due to their Anglo Converter Plant (ACP), part of the chain of processing facilities, that was damaged following an explosion within the converter in February 2020.

By October 2022, they determined it was no longer safe to run the furnace, prompting a shutdown that halted around 55% of global PGM production for nearly a month until the rebuild was completed.

In spite of these challenges, Viljoen managed to keep the business on track, and by 2022, it was achieving the best financial results in the company’s history.

Newmont

In February 2023, Viljoen announced that she would be leaving Anglo for a senior post at Newmont, the world’s largest gold producer.

“It’s not something I went to the market looking for. But it is one of those opportunities of a size you don’t see very often,” she said.

VIljoen joined Newmont in 2023 as the company’s Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Operating Officer (COO).

In September 2025, Newmont announced that Viljoen would succeed CEO Tom Palmer as the company’s new head on 1 January 2026.

Palmer, who has served as CEO since 2019, was only the 10th CEO in Newmont’s 104-year history and has served the company for more than a decade.

“After 12 years with Newmont, and almost 40 years in the mining industry, it is time for me to retire and hand over to Natascha to lead our company through the next chapter in its storied history,” Palmer said.

“I am confident that Natascha and Newmont will seize the many opportunities that lie ahead for our business.”

Newmont chairman Greg Boyce expressed excitement about Viljoen’s appointment as the company’s new CEO.

“We are delighted to welcome Natascha as our next CEO. Over the last two years as our COO, Natascha has proven to be an expert operator and inspiring leader,” Boyce said.

“We are fortunate to have Natascha lead Newmont with a clear focus on unlocking value across our world-class portfolio.”

Since joining Newmont in 2023, Viljoen has overseen the company’s operations, focusing on the integration of acquired assets, portfolio optimization, and talent development.

“I am honored to serve as the next CEO of Newmont at this pivotal moment,” Viljoen said. “With deep respect for our legacy, I am grounded about the work ahead.”

“We have assembled the industry’s strongest portfolio of long-life gold and copper assets, which we are determined to manage safely and effectively.”

She explained that Newmont will combine operational excellence, cost discipline and judicious capital allocation to ensure strong financial performance and unlock more value for stakeholders.

Together with its employees, Viljoen said they will shape a Newmont that is stronger, simpler and more resilient.

“I want to express my gratitude to Tom for his mentorship and support, and to the board for entrusting me with the responsibility to lead Newmont into its next phase of growth,” she said.