Mick Davis: A History Of Steely Determination

Former South African businessman turned British politician, Sir Mick Davis, has an impressive history in the mining industry. At the Joburg Inaba, held in October, he recounted his career and shared his insights on the current mining landscape.

It’s not often that Mick Davis, knighted by the UK’s queen in 2015, has been called an asshole; at least, not to his face. Enter Bernard Swanepoel, the former CEO of Harmony Gold, who first bumped into Davis during the 1980s, early in their respective careers.

“When I first met you at Genmin [General Mining], I thought you were an asshole,” said Swanepoel, who was about to pose online audience questions during the Joburg Indaba conference he convenes, and at which Davis was a star turn. “Then I got to know you, and I realised you were a clever asshole.”

If Davis was taken aback, it didn’t show, maintaining to a tee his reputation as a cool customer.

A former colleague recalls a work-related dinner with Davis that was carried off in an awkward, near-complete silence; conversation difficult, and certainly not encouraged by Davis. Anecdotes of this ilk have led to a reputation that Davis is icily cold, a view assisted by his (highly successful) managerial style, which was to decentralise management functions and delegate responsibility to the mining operations.

In a frank interview with Fiona Perrott-Humphrey, a banker for UK banker Rothschild & Co, Davis touched on what he nearly acknowledged was a character flaw. “One of the biggest challenges if you’ve had years of success is arrogance. The arrogance of success that not only are you convinced that everything you’re doing is right, but you’re convinced that people who observe you, think that you are right as well,” he said.