Clara

Born in the period just after the end of the Apartheid regime, Clara has aways been interested in social justice. “I had the privilege of growing up in a democratic South Africa, and that has shaped who I am,” she reflects.  

“It has played a huge role in me pushing myself to achieve whatever I set my mind to and encouraged me to do what I can to hold up others.”

This interest is why Clara decided to become a lawyer, and was the reason behind her master’s dissertation, which focused on housing provision in South Africa. 

After beginning her career in family law, Clara went on to gain experience in property law before she took a job as a mineral rights superintendent, supporting Glencore’s thermal coal business in South Africa. 

Glencore is one of the South Africa’s leading producers of thermal coal, used for domestic power generation and for export. The company’s South African coal operations are located in the province of Mpumalanga, near to where Clara grew up.

“It was a whole new world for me, but I was determined to prove myself,” Clara explains. “And in South Africa, mining law is connected to property law – but instead of housing, we’re dealing with property that belongs to the state, which is minerals.”

She liaises with South Africa’s Department of Minerals, Resources and Energy to support Glencore’s mining rights applications, which give the company permission to mine for minerals. 

Day to day Clara aims to ensure that the mining rights that Glencore has do not expire, renewing rights that need to be reinstated and applying for new permits. In turn, her work helps keep operations running, which contributes to jobs in South Africa’s mining sector, a big driver of economic development for the country. 

Clara explains: “At Glencore, we value the safety of local communities and our employees – which is something I absolutely believe in, and my work supports this.”