Role Purpose
The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) is responsible for developing and executing the commercial strategy for the mining business, ensuring sustainable revenue growth, market expansion, customer diversification, and optimisation of the company's mineral sales portfolio. The role oversees commercial operations across mining products, including sales, marketing, offtake agreements, pricing strategies, business development, trading activities, customer relations, and strategic partnerships.
The CCO will work closely with operations, finance, logistics, technical services, and executive leadership to maximise the commercial value of mining assets while ensuring alignment with the organization's long-term growth objectives. The position operates at Executive Committee and Board level and serves as the primary commercial advisor for mining investments and market opportunities.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Strategy & Revenue Growth
- Develop and implement the overall commercial strategy for the mining portfolio.
- Drive revenue growth and profitability across all mining commodities.
- Identify new markets, customers, and commercial opportunities globally.
- Develop pricing, sales and contract strategies aligned with market conditions.
- Lead long-term commercial planning and demand forecasting.
Sales, Marketing & Offtake Management
- Establish and manage strategic customer relationships.
- Lead negotiations for offtake agreements, supply contracts, and commercial partnerships.
- Develop global sales channels for mining products.
- Ensure optimisation of product placement and market diversification.
- Monitor commodity market trends and competitive positioning.
Business Development & Strategic Partnerships
- Identify acquisition, joint venture, strategic alliance and investment opportunities.
- Develop relationships with key industry stakeholders, governments, and trading houses.
- Lead commercial due diligence for new mining projects and investments.
- Support expansion into new geographies and mineral sectors.
Commercial Risk Management
- Assess commodity price exposure and commercial risks.
- Develop risk mitigation strategies for contracts, logistics and market fluctuations.
- Ensure compliance with international trade regulations and commercial governance requirements.
- Work closely with finance on hedging and revenue protection strategies.
Supply Chain & Logistics Coordination
- Collaborate with operations and logistics teams to optimise product delivery and costs.
- Improve supply chain efficiency and customer service performance.
- Ensure effective coordination between production plans and market demand.
Stakeholder & Investor Relations
- Present commercial performance updates to Executive Management and the Board.
- Maintain relationships with key investors, government entities and strategic clients.
- Represent the company at industry conferences, trade events and stakeholder forums.
Leadership & Organisational Development
- Build and lead a high-performing commercial organisation.
- Develop commercial capabilities, succession plans and talent pipelines.
- Foster a culture of accountability, customer focus and commercial excellence.
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Economics, Mining Engineering, Metallurgy, Geology, Finance, or related discipline.
- MBA or Master's Degree preferred.
Professional Experience
- Minimum 15-20 years of experience within the mining industry.
- At least 10 years in senior commercial leadership roles.
- Proven experience with mining commodities such as phosphate, copper, gold, iron ore, coal, nickel, rare earth elements, lithium or industrial minerals.
- Strong track record in global commodity sales, marketing and trading.
- Experience negotiating major offtake agreements and strategic commercial partnerships.
- Experience working with multinational mining companies is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated success in delivering revenue growth and market expansion initiatives.
Preferred Candidate Profile
- Extensive experience within large-scale mining operations or mining groups.
- Strong understanding of global commodity markets and mining value chains.
- Established network across mining customers, traders, smelters, governments, and investors.
- Experience operating in emerging and international mining jurisdictions.
- Ability to engage effectively with Boards, shareholders, financial institutions and strategic partners.
