Australians have a reputation for being blunt and outspoken, and Coal of Africa CEO Simon Farrell lives up to that … big-time. His down-to-earth assessments make a pleasant change to the usual pussy-footing around that many mining executives do when dealing with issues that might offend stakeholders such as Government. Farrell openly voiced the privately held views of many mining executives when he climbed into South Africa’s bureaucracy over persistent delays in getting permits granted. But he has also shown himself to be an innovative businessman in terms of the solutions that Coal of Africa has found to the problems of getting export coal out of South Africa given the present constraints on rail and port capacity. He’s struck deals with JSE-listed freight and shipping firm, Grindrod, to get tonnages out using it’s facility at Richards Bay and for a major expansion of it’s Matola terminal in Maputo. Last year saw a number of major developments. The first thermal coal for export was railed from the Mooiplaats colliery in September. In October, Coal of Africa announced a bid for junior miner NuCoal as well as its intention to shift its London listing from AIM to the main board of the London Stock Exchange.

LIFE OF SIMON
He has B.Com from the University of Western Australia and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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