The pay increase comes as industrial unrest intensifies around Bowen Basin mines in Queensland over pay and safety.

Anglo lists Carroll’s key achievements as including a comprehensive internal reorganisation, new asset optimisation and supply chain initiatives, while sustaining the project pipeline during the downturn, and laying the foundation for a record financial performance in 2011.

“She also changed the composition of the projects team and introduced greater systematisation into the project evaluation process. In 2011, three major projects were successfully delivered – on, or ahead of schedule and continues to drive our sustainable development agenda, including leading our corporate participation at the 2011 COP17 Summit,” the company said in its website.

Carroll also chairs the group management committee and the executive committee and sits on the safety and sustainable development committee. She is a non-executive director of BP and De Beers and chairs Anglo American Platinum.

Kloppers received the second-highest salary out of the three although the delivery time frame varies for different components of the total pay package. He enjoyed a 6% rise in his pay package to $10.4 million for the year to June 30, 2011.

Albanese's pay package dropped 19% to $7.08 million last year because he decided to forgo his cash bonus after Rio reported an $8.9 billion write-down on its purchase of Alcan in 2007.