Forget those salaries and wages in mining. Go for the executive suite and get real money. There is a mining company somewhere in the United States where the Chairman received a total 2009 compensation of $21,477,100. The only problem with 20 is that it is only 10 after taxes. Still, I wonder how you can productively spend a million dollars a month?
CostMine includes a survey of 2009 Mining Executive Compensation in their recently published 2010 Survey Results. U.S. Metal and Industrial Mineral Mine Salaries, Wages and Benefits. Here are a few highlights from the copy they sent me. Here are the other blog postings on this report:
First the averages. Here are the average total compensation for major mining company executives in 2009 (figures in millions of dollars.)
- Chairman = 7.8
- CEO = 9.1
- President = 9.9
- Vice President = 3.0
- CFO = 3.2
- COO = 4.1
Goes to prove there is a widening gap between the rich and the poor, with the middle-class engineer just slowly sinking.
What of average compensation for junior mining company executives? Here, this time in hundreds of thousands are the averages:
- Chairman = 1,437
- CEO = 1,446
- President = 1,441
- Vice President = 662
- CFO = 716
- COO = 984
Next let us look at the maximum total compensation for Mid-Tier Mining Companies—back to millions of dollar per annum:
- Chairman = 9.1
- CEO = 9.1
- President = 7.0
- Vice President = 3.3
- CFO = 3.2
- COO = 5.8
Of course, total compensation includes salary, pension, securities granted, and shares subject to resale restrictions. To come to earth and the paycheck at the end of each month, here are the maximum annual salaries for executives in major mining companies, in hundreds of thousands:
- Chairman = 2,500
- CEO = 2,500
- President = 2,500
- Vice President = 868
- CFO = 834
- COO = 868
After taxes that works out to a salary check each month for about $100,000. I would still have trouble deciding how to spend that amount each month—considering that I would be working most of the time. There are only so many hours, movies, books, cars, houses and so on that you can experience in a month. I suppose it is all about the bragging rights at that income level. All I can do is reflect on the ending of a poem that you can enjoy regardless of compensation:
| I grow old … I grow old … | 120 |
| I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. | |
| Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? | |
| I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. | |
| I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. | |
| I do not think that they will sing to me. | 125 |
| I have seen them riding seaward on the waves | |
| Combing the white hair of the waves blown back | |
| When the wind blows the water white and black. | |
| We have lingered in the chambers of the sea | |
| By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown | 130 |
| Till human voices wake us, and we drown. | |
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Wow, those are impressive figures! Although, compared to other industries, I guess they’re probably not too different as far as execs go…
[...] US Mining Executives’ Compensation [...]
[...] US Mining Executives’ Compensation [...]
What the executive salaries prove is NOT a “widening gap between the rich and the poor”–a good mining engineer’s compensation package hardly makes him/her “poor”–but the difference in levels of compensation between those who assume heavy responsibilities (executives), and those who assume far lighter responsibilities (mining engineers, and other non managerial/executive personnel).
The real injustice consists of the fact that EVERY employee is robbed by his country’s government of ANY percentage of his/her income property via coercive, expropriatory income taxation.
[...] US Mining Executives’ Compensation [...]