Mark Cutifani to miners: Stop apologising. We don’t just dig rocks—we make modern life possible. Time to own it, say it, and lead like it.
Jamie Wade
Helping people win contracts in the resources, construction, infrastructure, energy and utilities and drilling sectors.
For underground mining professionals, the AusIMM Underground Operators Conference in Adelaide delivered no shortage of technical insights—but it was a keynote from one of the industry’s most accomplished leaders that left the deepest impression.
Mark Cutifani , former CEO of Anglo American and current chair of Vale Base Metals , stood before a packed theatre in Adelaide and offered not just lessons in leadership, but a compelling invitation: to stop being apologetic and start telling mining’s real story.
“We work for the only industry that makes modern life possible—and we do it from just 0.3% of the Earth’s surface,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’ve never had anyone guess I work in mining.”
It was a bold way to start, but this is a leader who’s spent 48 years underground, above ground, and at the helm of some of the world’s most complex mining businesses. And as Cutifani made clear, the industry’s biggest problem isn’t just productivity or perception—it’s mindset.
From Coal Cliffs to cobalt corridors
Born in Wollongong, Cutifani’s mining journey began in 1976 at Coal Cliff colliery, where he entered the workforce straight out of high school. He would later graduate top of his class in mining engineering from the University of Wollongong, receiving the Atlas Copco Travelling Bursary as the best mining student in Australasia.
His career quickly accelerated: from Western Mining Corporation and Normandy Mining to executive leadership at Vale’s Inco business. There, he helped transform its nickel operations and later became CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, where he dismantled a toxic gold hedge book and halved the company’s fatality rate.
But it was during his decade as CEO of Anglo American (2013–2022) that Cutifani cemented his legacy—turning around a struggling mining giant through relentless restructuring, cultural change and operational discipline.
Cutting costs, doubling productivity, saving lives
When Cutifani took the reins at Anglo American, it was underperforming on nearly every front—lagging peers like BHP, Rio Tinto and Glencore. He got to work quickly.
“We had 68 assets. We did a review and realised only 37 were long-term value creators. So we focused.”
In just a few years, the numbers were staggering:
He also introduced the Sustainable Mining Plan in 2018, committing Anglo to carbon neutrality by 2040 (and by 2030 at some sites), and elevating water and energy efficiency alongside biodiversity goals.
“We weren’t just cutting costs. We were rebuilding trust, inside the business and in the communities where we operated.”
Structural drift and underground realities
Cutifani warned about a force every underground operator knows but few quantify: structural cost drift.
“Grades drop 1.5% a year. Development metres per tonne go up. Energy inflation outpaces CPI. If you’re not actively countering these trends, you’re falling behind.”
At Anglo, he and his technical team (led by Tony O’Neill and Donovan Waller) designed industrial operating models that addressed these exact pressures. The result: a company that went from the 49th to the 28th percentile of global cost competitiveness.
It’s also why, under his leadership, Anglo was the only major mining company to appoint a technical director to its board.
“The CFO speaks for the financial balance sheet. We needed someone to speak for the mineral balance sheet too.”
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Cutifani at Vale: a new era for energy transition metals
In 2023, Cutifani was appointed chair of Vale Base Metals, a newly ringfenced subsidiary responsible for one of the world’s largest portfolios of nickel, copper, and cobalt assets. The business is now a critical supplier to energy transition giants like Tesla and GM.
Alongside former Tesla president Jerome Guillen , Cutifani is shaping the company’s strategy and preparing it for what Vale has described as a “liquidity event”—widely anticipated to be an IPO or partial divestment.
His mission? Maximise margins, unlock underperforming assets, and futureproof a business that’s critical to global decarbonisation.
The role of underground professionals: own the story
For all the operational insights, it was Cutifani’s call for cultural change that resonated loudest.
“We need to stop being apologetic. People don’t understand what we do—and that’s our fault, not theirs.”
He urged underground mining professionals to be advocates, not just operators. To speak about mining as the enabler of everything from mobility and housing to food and clean water.
“Without fertilisers, which come from mining, we can only feed 4 billion people. Without steel, we can’t build vertically. Without copper, we can’t transmit energy. We make life possible.”
Cutifani also reflected on the declining number of mining graduates and the need to inspire the next generation.
“We’ve failed to make the case for why young people should join our industry. That has to change—starting with us.”
Recognition from around the world
Cutifani’s leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, AusIMM, and IOM3; a recipient of the AusIMM Institute Medal; and in 2024 was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the global mining industry.
His honours stretch from Australia’s Digger of the Year to South Africa’s Brigadier Stokes Memorial Award, and he was inducted into both the South African and U.S. Mining Industry Halls of Fame.
But perhaps the recognition that means the most is how his work has shaped lives—safely, sustainably, and profitably.
Final word: lead from where you are
Whether you’re a jumbo operator in WA, an engineer in Mt Isa, or a superintendent in Sudbury, Cutifani’s message is the same: you have a role in shaping mining’s future.
His challenge:
“We are essential. Not a nice-to-have, not a temporary fix. We are the foundation of everything—and it’s time we said so.”
Jamie Wade is the editor of Australasian Drilling, publisher of Projectory, and managing director of Wade Business Media. He writes about leadership, innovation and transformation in the mining and resources sectors.