Shareholders should rein in expectations or quit mining sector: Cynthia Carroll

Anglo American’s (LON:AAL) outgoing CEO, Cynthia Carroll, said Tuesday that mining industry shareholders should reset their expectations or simply quit the sector.

Carroll, who leaves the mining giant at the end of the week, complained of a “disconnect” between mining companies and their investors, who need to understand “what it really takes to deliver projects.”

“It’s not an industry where you can react overnight to something that happened yesterday,” she told Financial Times (subs. required).

Earlier this year Anglo posted a pre-tax loss of $239 million for 2012 compared with a $10.78 billion profit the year before, after taking a $4 billion impairment charge against the value of its Brazilian Minas Rio iron ore project.

That was the first annual loss logged by the group since listing in London.

As part of her exit package, Carroll will get about 70,000 unvested bonus shares worth about $2 million (GBP1.3 million) at Anglo’s current share price, plus a $1 million (GBP700,000) cash bonus and this year’s remaining portion of her $1.9 million (GBP1.2) annual salary that hasn’t already been paid, Fox Business reported.

The first woman to ever run Anglo American will be replaced by Mark Cutifani, outgoing CEO of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), the South Africa-based bullion producer.