Dr Nombasa Tsengwa started her career in the mining industry in 2003 when she joined the then, Kumba Resources as the General Manager Safety Health and Environment. With the unbundling of Kumba and the inception of Exxaro Resources, she was appointed as Executive General Manager Safety and Sustainable Development. In 2010 she was appointed as Regional General Manager Coal Tied Collieries, overseeing three underground and four opencast operations. In 2015 she was appointed as acting Executive Head Coal Operations before formally taking hold of this position in May 2016. In this position she was responsible for oversight in the operations and functioning of the Coal Business and its ventures managed by Exxaro Coal. In this position she was also responsible for the marketing and logistics of all products. In July 2020, Dr Tsengwa was appointed as Managing Director Minerals, a new division, which was an expansion of her Coal and FerroAlloys portfolio to included new low carbon minerals.