Toronto-based Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH has released its 2021 report on executive and board compensation in the mining industry. The firm collected data for the 2020 year-end from 276 mining companies between May and September 2021.
The report says the medial total compensation for chief executive officers (CEOs) ranged from $452,500 (for companies with asset values of $100 million) to $9.9 million (at companies with assets over $20 billion).
The top earning mining executive was Mark Rosenthal, the chief operating officer and former chairman and CEO of MP Materials (NYSE: NUE) at $29 million, which was 16.8% higher than the top paid executive a year earlier.
Barrick Gold’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) Mark Bristow came in third at $22.9 million, behind Cleveland-Cliffs’ (NYSE: CLF) Laurenco Goncalves ($23.4 million) and ahead of Freeport McMoRan’s (NYSE: FCX) Richard Adkerson ($21.1 million) and Rio Tinto’s (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) Jean-Sebastien Jacques ($16.8 million).
Chief operating officers were also well compensated. P. Harvey of South32 (ASX: S32) received a total of $15.6 million, followed by Barrick’s Catherine P. Raw ($7.2 million). The next highest-earning COOs were Robert Atkinson at Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) ($6.7 million), Clifford Smith at Cleveland-Cliffs ($5.5 million) and Tracy L. Porter at Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) ($5.4 million).
Porter was not the highest paid female executive. That honour went to Karla R. Lewis at Reliance Steel & Aluminium (NYSE: RS) who earned $13.2 million. That was more than double the highest compensation for a woman ($6.4 million) in the 2020 report.
The list of well-compensated chief financial officers is lead by Nucor’s (NYSE: NUE) James D. Frias ($10.4 million) and then Barrick’s Graham Shuttleworth ($9.2 million), Anglo American’s (LSE: AAL; US-OTC: NGLOY) Stephen Pearce ($8.2 million), and Freeport McMoRan’s Kathleen L. Quirk ($8.2 million). The top five in this category also included MP Materials’ Ryan Corbet ($7.5 million).
Vice-presidents of corporate development also play a vital role for their employers. The top five were all from Canadian miners, beginning with Geoffrey P. Gold at Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) who received $4.5 million. The list continues with Agnico Eagle Mines’ (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) Jean Robitaille ($3 million), Wheaton Precious Metals’ (TSX: WPM; NYSE: WPM; LSE: WPM) Haytham H. Hodaly ($2.5 million), Yamana Gold’s (TSX: YRI; NYSE: AUY; LSE: AUY) Gerardo Fernandez ($2.2 million), and in fifth place, Hudbay Minerals’ (TSX: HBM; NYSE: HBM) Eugene Lei.
The report found that compensation for board members varied widely across the companies they covered. Typically, it includes a base retainer, committee and/or meeting fees, and equity compensation (shares and options).
The best-paid board member was Anne Giardini at K92 Mining (TSXV: KNT; US-OTC: KNTNF), who received $2.2 million. Galiano Gold (TSX: GAU.CA; NYSE: GAU) paid Paul Wright $2 million; Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) paid Jean Paul Luksic $1.3 million; Marimaca Copper (TSX: MARI) paid Michael Haworth $1.2 million; and Stuart Chambers at Anglo American received $1.2 million.
This is Bedford’s 12th annual report covering remuneration in the mining industry, providing insights and analysis, with particular emphasis on Canadian companies. It can be downloaded for free at www.BedfordGroup.com/compensation/compensation-reports.
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