Monrovia – ArcelorMittal Liberia has announced the appointment of Michiel Van Der Merwe as the new Chief Executive Officer for ArcelorMittal Liberia, effective July 1, 2024. Van Der Merwe will report to Kleber Silva, Executive Vice President of ArcelorMittal and Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal Mining, as outgoing CEO Jozephus (Joep) Coenen retires, according to a company statement.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh – [email protected]
Who is Michiel Van Der Merwe?
Michiel Van Der Merwe is 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, he joined Anglogold Ashanti’s graduate program, progressing from senior plant metallurgist to metallurgical engineer by 1999.
Michiel then held several senior roles in the mining industry, including commissioning the Morila gold mine in Mali, managing several plants in South Africa, and serving as Chief Operations Manager at Sylvania Resources in 2010. In 2012, he became a General Manager with Gold Fields Ghana Ltd, before advancing to Vice President of Operations in January 2023, overseeing the Tarkwa and Damang operations.
The Strategic Appointment
Michiel’s appointment comes at a crucial time for ArcelorMittal Liberia as the company seeks to persuade the Government of Liberia to sign the Phase Two amended Mineral Development Agreement, which has been stalled in the Executive Mansion and the Legislature for over three years.
Commenting on his new role, Michiel said, “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 great significance to the country.”
Kleber Silva, EVP and CEO of ArcelorMittal Mining, stated that Michiel brings deep project, operations, and African experience that will be critical as ArcelorMittal Liberia progresses towards the remaining stages of the Phase II Expansion project.
“I am looking forward to working with Michiel to drive 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,” Silva said.
What Prompted Coenen’s Exit?
Since the merger of Mittal Steel (India) and Arcelor (Europe) in 2006, forming the world’s largest steel company ArcelorMittal, there has been an ongoing clash between the Indian and European factions within the company. The Indian faction focuses on production targets and profits, often at the expense of people and communities, while the European faction prioritizes people and community development as strategic to long-term business growth.
Under Coenen’s leadership, ArcelorMittal Liberia has heavily invested in community development. Since 2018, the company has allocated 20% of its social development fund to Grand Bassa, Nimba, and Bong counties, supporting projects such as climate-resilient agriculture, the construction of a state-of-the-art vocational training center in Yekepa, Nimba County, numerous school buildings, and scholarships for students across Liberia.
Industry observers have long anticipated Coenen’s retirement, given recent industrial actions at the mines and poor rail maintenance. The last rail derailment cost ArcelorMittal millions in lost revenue. However, many credit Coenen for genuinely caring for the Liberian workforce and pushing forward Liberia’s immediate future.
Sources suggest that ArcelorMittal’s London office views Coenen as a socialist who spends more time on investments in people and communities. Accordingly, his abrupt retirement is seen as a message to the new CEO and future leaders to focus more on production targets and less on socio-economic development.
Additionally, sources indicate that the younger Mittal, now the CEO, shares this view due to his Western orientation and has been making strategic efforts in this direction. However, FrontPageAfrica gathered that Ram Chandra Saraf (RC), CFO for mining, who controls the spending purse, has been tight with finances for the Liberia operation. “The operations in Liberia have been starved of cash for years. You can’t starve the operations and expect miraculous results,” an insider, seeking anonymity, said.
