Anglo American, the global mining giant providing most of the financial backing for the Pebble project, recently selected a new board chairman. The appointee is Sir John Parker, who is taking over for Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, who recently visited Alaska on a tour of the Pebble site and surrounding communities.

Here's a recent Associated Press story about Parker's appointment. I'm also attaching links to a few additional stories from other media outlets at the bottom of this post.

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LONDON (AP) - Mining company Anglo American PLC said Friday (July 10)that Sir John Parker has been chosen as its next chairman of the board, resisting pressure from the South African government to appoint a black executive.

Parker, whose appointment is effective on Aug. 1, succeeds Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, who served seven years as chairman of the company, which is listed in London and Johannesburg.

Parker, 67, is chairman of National Grid PLC and joint chairman of South Africa's Mondi Group with Cyril Ramaphosa. He recently stepped down as chair of the Court of the Bank of England.

South African Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu had said on Thursday that the government "would prefer to have a black South African as the chairperson of Anglo."

"Anglo American has its roots in South Africa and its role in the South African economy is very significant," she said in an e-mail to the South African Press Association, adding that the appointment of a black person would be "a positive signal going forward" that Anglo was committed to South Africa.

On Friday, Shebanga's office said she was "looking forward to working with Sir John in the best interests of South Africa."

Last month, Anglo American rejected a merger overture from Xstrata, its Anglo-Swiss rival. The proposed combination would create a group worth $68 billion, ranking the combined company behind BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Anglo American originated as a gold-mining company in South Africa in 1917, and the majority of its operations remain in southern Africa, including in Botswana and Namibia.

Its corporate headquarters has been in London since 1999, following the merger of Anglo American Corp. of South Africa with Minorco, based in Luxembourg. It operates in 45 countries, with interests in precious and base metal, ferrous metals and coal.

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Additional links:

* Wall Street Journal on Parker: Warding off rivals, critics Read story
* Financial Times on Parker: "Wealth of experience" Read story