Mining has long been considered a male-dominated industry, but 2026 tells a different story. Across gold, copper, iron ore, diamonds and the technology that keeps mines running, women are leading some of the world’s biggest operations, steering multi-billion-dollar projects, and shaping the industry’s future in critical minerals and decarbonisation. From boardrooms in Johannesburg and Gaborone to head offices in Denver and Stockholm, these leaders are redefining what mining leadership looks like. At CA Mining today, we pride ourselves in making more and more female hires to meet our mining client’s needs. We will now list ten women in mining who are making an outsized impact on the mining sector in 2026.
1. Natascha Viljoen, President & CEO, Newmont Corporation
South African metallurgical engineer Natascha Viljoen took the helm of Newmont Corporation on 1 January 2026, becoming the first woman to lead the world’s largest gold producer in its 104-year history. She joined Newmont in 2023 as President and Chief Operating Officer after serving as the first female CEO of Anglo American Platinum (now Valterra Platinum), where she navigated volatile markets and safety challenges across deep-level operations. A second-generation miner with 30 years of international experience, Viljoen is now integrating Newmont’s Newcrest assets while championing safety and modernisation across the group.
2. Mpumi Zikalala, CEO, Kumba Iron Ore
Mpumi Zikalala has led Kumba Iron Ore, Anglo American’s South African subsidiary and the fifth-largest iron ore producer in the world, since January 2022. She began her mining career as a process engineer at De Beers in 2001, later rising to Deputy CEO of De Beers Consolidated Mines and Managing Director of De Beers Group Managed Operations. Under her leadership, Kumba has posted double-digit earnings growth while advancing its R11.2 billion ultra-high dense media separation plant at Sishen, extending the mine’s life to 2041.
3. Marna Cloete, President & CEO, Ivanhoe Mines
Marna Cloete leads Ivanhoe Mines, the Canadian company behind some of Southern Africa’s most significant recent mining developments. Under her leadership, Ivanhoe brought the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo into production, now one of the world’s highest-grade and fastest-growing copper mines, and guided the rehabilitation of the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc mine. She also continues to oversee the Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel project in South Africa. Beyond production milestones, Cloete spearheaded the Kamoa Centre of Excellence, a higher-education facility developed with the DRC government to build local technical skills for the next generation.
4. Kathleen Quirk, President & CEO, Freeport-McMoRan
Kathleen Quirk has spent more than three decades at Freeport-McMoRan, joining in 1989 and rising through Treasury, Investor Relations and Corporate Development before becoming Chief Financial Officer in 2003, President in 2021, and CEO in 2024. She now runs the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, including its landmark Grasberg Block Cave operation in Indonesia. Quirk was repeatedly named Best CFO in Metals and Mining during her finance tenure, and in 2025 she was inducted into the American Mining Hall of Fame for shaping Freeport’s strategy through decades of industry cycles.
5. Helena Hedblom, President & CEO, Epiroc
Helena Hedblom took charge of Swedish equipment manufacturer Epiroc in 2020, just weeks before the pandemic upended global industry. Since then, she has pushed the company to the front of mining’s shift toward automation and electrification, driving development of battery-electric vehicles and autonomous drilling rigs that are changing how mines operate underground. Hedblom is a leading voice behind the “zero-emission mine” concept, pressing operators worldwide to rethink their strategies around carbon-neutral targets. With 25 years across Atlas Copco and Epiroc, she has turned a heavy industrial business into one of the mining sector’s clearest technology leaders.
6. Djaria Traore, EVP Operations & ESG, Endeavour Mining
Djaria Traore joined Endeavour Mining in 2019 as VP of Supply Chain and was promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations and ESG in 2024, drawing on more than two decades of mining experience across Guinea, Russia and West Africa. She led the team that delivered the Lafigué gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire on budget and ahead of schedule, the fifth mine Endeavour has built in the region in a decade. Traore has been recognised as one of the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining for her contribution to operational excellence and sustainability across Endeavour’s West African portfolio.
7. Wilhemina Ngcobo, Acting Managing Director, Richards Bay Minerals
Wilhemina Ngcobo stepped up from Chief Operating Officer to Acting Managing Director of Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in August 2026, taking the helm of Rio Tinto’s mineral sands business in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. RBM is one of the world’s largest producers of titanium feedstock, zircon and high-purity pig iron. Her appointment comes at a pivotal moment, as RBM executes a R8.5 billion expansion of its Zulti South project, extending the operation’s life to 2050 after years of delay. Ngcobo’s promotion reflects a broader push at RBM to rebuild operational stability and stakeholder trust.
8. Alison Atkinson, Chief Projects & Development Officer, Anglo American
Alison Atkinson joined Anglo American in 2023 after leading AWE plc, the UK body responsible for the country’s nuclear defence programme, as CEO. As Chief Projects & Development Officer, she now leads Anglo American’s global pipeline of major mining developments alongside its carbon and innovation strategy, including the FutureSmart Mining™ programme and renewable energy partnerships with Envusa Energy and EDF. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Atkinson has been named to the future executive leadership team of Anglo Teck, the company being formed through Anglo American’s merger with Canada’s Teck Resources.
9. Nolitha Fakude, Chair, Anglo American South Africa
Nolitha Fakude chairs Anglo American’s South African management board and is the immediate past President of the Minerals Council of South Africa, one of the industry’s most influential advocacy positions. Over three decades across mining, oil and gas, retail and financial services, she has championed transformation and gender equity in South African mining, including leading industry conversations on gender-based violence in mining communities. In recognition of her contribution to the sector, Fakude received the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’s Brigadier Stokes Memorial Award, one of the highest honours in South African mining and metallurgy.
10. Serty Leburu, Managing Director, DTC Botswana
Serty Leburu was appointed Managing Director of the Diamond Trading Company Botswana in February 2026, becoming the first woman to lead the De Beers and Botswana government joint venture that sorts, values and sells diamonds from Debswana’s mines. It is the latest in a career of firsts: Leburu was also the first female Finance Manager at Debswana Diamond Mines, the first female Deputy CEO at Standard Chartered Bank Botswana, and the first female Executive Director at Botswana Accountancy College, building a three-decade track record across finance, governance and strategy before taking on diamond trading’s top job.
These ten female leaders span gold, copper, iron ore, diamonds and the equipment that keeps mines running, operating from Denver to Gaborone. What they share is a track record of delivering major projects, building safer and more sustainable operations, and opening doors for the women coming up behind them. As mining companies compete harder than ever for skilled talent, lists like this are a reminder that the strongest candidate for the top job is increasingly a woman.
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