SHANGHAI – Cynthia Carroll has resigned as chief executive officer of Anglo American Plc after more than five years in the role, the company said Friday.

The board accepted the resignation, and Carroll will remain in her post until a successor is appointed, the London-based company said.

Carroll, one of the most high-profile women in the mining sector, gave no specific reason for her choice.

"It was a very difficult decision to leave, but next year I will be entering my seventh year as chief executive and I feel that the time will be right to hand over to a successor who can build further on the strong foundations we have created," Carroll said in a statement.

Carroll’s tenure has been marred in the last year by budget overruns at Anglo’s Minas Rio iron ore project in Brazil and a protracted legal tussle with Santiago, Chile-based Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) over the ownership of a copper project (amm.com, Aug. 23).

Carroll has also been leading the company through a difficult period in South Africa, where violent strikes have disrupted Johannesburg-based Anglo American Platinum Ltd.