Outstanding achievement for Ladysmith man

Andrew McClelland, who is formerly from Ladysmith, has been appointed to the position of Group Head of Processing for Anglo American.

Andrew will be based in London and takes over from Natascha Viljoen, who has been appointed CEO of Anglo American.

Andrew (born in February 1977) arrived in Ladysmith when he was just four years old. He attended Caldene, Egerton Pre-Primary, Egerton Senior Primary and Ladysmith High School (LHS), where he matriculated.

Lynette Heron from Spion Kop Lodge was one on his teachers at Egerton and his Speech & Drama teacher until matric. Lynette says she is proud of what he has achieved.

Mrs Joy Barnard, who taught Andrew in Grade 5 at Egerton Primary School, says he was a hardworking and conscientious pupil who took part in Speech & Drama, where he did very well.

He was awarded a full bursary from the mining company JCI, later taken over by Anglo American. Andrew has a degree in Engineering (Chemical with Mineral Processing) from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Out of a class of 100 students, he was the only one who completed his degree in four years.

Andrew worked for Anglo during his vacations and after completing his degree, started working in Thabazimbi, followed by mines in Rustenburg, Amandelbult, Lydenburg, Mototola and Lebowa.

Andrew joined Anglo American as a Trainee Metallurgist (Bursar) in 1995 and has subsequently had a number of roles, including Technical Superintendent, Metallurgical Manager and Principal Metallurgist working across multiple commodities and geographies.

In 2016, he was appointed as the Head of Processing, South America and Australia.

Also read: Drastic change in mindset needed to curb Covid-19 pandemic

Also read: Covid-19: No visitors allowed at Ladysmith Provincial Hospital

About three years ago, he was promoted as Head of Department, based in Santiago (Chile) – mainly copper; and with responsibility for Brazil (coal), Peru (copper), and coal mines in New South Wales and the Northern Territories (Australia). He is also involved in new mining operations north of the Arctic Circle in Finland.

In his new role, Andrew will lead the Group Processing team in driving processing excellence and outcomes across the group, safely and sustainably, while working to rapidly progress and implement innovation and digital programmes. He picks up the baton from Natascha to assure that Anglo American remains a world leader.

Lynette Heron says that, “On behalf of Ladysmith, I would like to congratulate Andrew on his outstanding achievement! If you can dream it, you can do it!”

Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Join us there!