Outgoing Impala CEO Terence Goodlace has his critics. Under his watch, the company has been unable to resist external powerful forces, spiralling from the SA mining industry’s admired entrepreneurially-driven operator to a loss-making basket case. But whatever detractors now say over former Gold Fields executive Goodlace’s suitability within the rather different corporate culture he found, borrowing words of Impala non-executive director Bernard Swanepoel, with hindsight his was an “impossible” task. A description that might also be used for the job of headhunters now scouring the world for Goodlace’s successor. They need to tap a serious contrarian; someone prepared to risk their reputation in a rapidly changing industry within a turbulent political environment. Most likely a people-focused leader like the late Steve Kearney. The brilliant mining engineer poured his life into transforming Impala, but paid the ultimate price when he died, at 45, after suffering a stroke. Sometimes the big bucks are just not worth what comes with it. – Alec Hogg  Â
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(Bloomberg) —Â Wanted: Mining executive who can make money when prices and output fall, will halt skyrocketing costs, and is willing to accept a salary paid in one of the worldâs weakest currencies.
Thatâs the potential job description for whoever replaces Terence Goodlace as chief executive officer at Johannesburg-based Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the second-largest producer of the precious metal. Goodlace, 57, said last month he plans to soon resign, ending a four-year tenure that saw one of South Africaâs most reliable cash cows diminished by plunging platinum prices, strikes and fatal accidents.

South Africa is home to about three-quarters of the worldâs platinum reserves and is a major source of commodities from gold to diamonds. But extracting them is difficult and expensive. Some of the worldâs deepest mines were built using cheap, mostly black miners working in dangerous conditions, and the industry has been slow to mechanize, which would allow developed-world pay and prevent more fatal accidents. Temperatures deep in the Earth can reach 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit), enough to fry an egg.
On top of all that is the countryâs history of whites-only rule, which ended in 1994 and creates unique challenges for executives. The next chief at Impala, like the rest of the mining industry, will face growing demands from the government to erase the remnants of apartheid through expanded social benefits and increased minority ownership, efforts that can conflict with the interests of investors.
âImpossible Jobâ
âA South African mining CEO sounds like an impossible job right now,â said Bernard Swanepoel, the former head of Harmony Gold Mining Co. who is a non-executive director at Impala. âI donât think Jack Welch could run a South African mining company by himself,â he said, referring to the former head of General Electric Co., one of the worldâs biggest conglomerates.
While safety has improved significantly in recent years, mining remains deadly work. Just this year, eight workers were killed at Impalaâs mines. On May 17, a day before Goodlace announced his resignation, an underground area caved in. Two men were killed, including one whoâs body wasnât found for more than two weeks. Every fatality means lost production while government inspectors examine the site.
Impala spokesman Johan Theron declined to make Goodlace available for comment, adding that an interview now wouldnât be appropriate given the recent worker deaths.
âTerence transformed the safety culture within Impala,â Swanepoel said. âBut the reality is there will be accidents and traumatic experiences. If youâre passionate about people, you hurt when people get hurt. Iâm sure it was a contributing factor to his overall decision.â
Impala Platinum's mining costs triple @CrowleyKev pic.twitter.com/E29vQ7Tt1n
— Antony Sguazzin (@AntonySguazzin) June 9, 2016
Tough working conditions and low pay make for volatile labor relations. There was a five-month strike in 2014 that disrupted operations and reduced output. Impala is due to begin new wage talks in the coming weeks.
It also doesnât help that executives need to keep tabs on changes in government rules that make operating in South Africa different from other English-speaking countries, according to Guy Lundy, of Los Angeles-based executive-search firm Korn Ferry.
âWe sit in such an uncertain environment on a policy level and an economic level that itâs very difficult to plan ahead,â Lundy said. âOn top of that, the social issues, the environmental aspects and exchange rate fluctuations differentiate the challenges facing a South African mining CEO from an American or Australian CEO.â
Big Decline
In an industry hit hard by the global commodity slump, Impalaâs decline stands out. The company was the third-best performer among precious-metals producers on the JSE All-Share Index in the decade before Goodlace took over, paying substantial dividends even as rivals faltered during the 2008 financial crisis.
That changed in the last five years, mostly because of things outside Goodlaceâs control. Platinum prices plunged 46 percent from $1,903.50 an ounce in 2011. Impalaâs output fell and costs rose as it built three expensive new shafts needed to access more than half of the companyâs reserves. Goodlace fired 1,600 workers and last year raised 4 billion rand from shareholders. The company employs about 50,000.
âItâs probably been the toughest time in the companyâs history to be a CEO over the last few years,â said Wayne McCurrie, who helps manage 100 billion rand at Momentum Wealth in South Africa. âThe rights issue was needed to stay a viable company.â
Refusing Raises
As the company struggled, Goodlace turned down pay rises and bonuses for three years in a row. He took home 7.5 million rand ($510,000) in the year ended June 30. By comparison, Chris Griffith, who runs No. 1 producer Anglo American Platinum Ltd., earned 18.5 million rand last year, while Ben Magara, the CEO at No. 3 producer Lonmin Plc, got 580,000 pounds, then worth 12.1 million rand.
The compensation of Impalaâs next CEO will be similar to those at comparable companies in South Africa and abroad, said Theron, the spokesman. Goodlaceâs decision not to take bonuses or pay increases was a personal one.
Impala plans to cast a wide net for candidates. âBut the reality is our challenges are so diverse and unique that you probably got a much higher chance of finding the right candidate closer to home,â Theron said.
Getting paid in the local currency may be a tough sell. The rand has declined 15 percent against the dollar over the past 12 months, the biggest slide among 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, except for the Argentine peso.
For Swanepoel, the non-executive director, leading Impala is a team effort and should not just focus on the CEO.
âThe very demand environment that mining has become means any expectation of CEOs being around for 10 years is wrong,â he said. âThe super-hero CEO model is outdated.â