MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's South32 ( SHTLF ) on Monday named Matthew Daley to lead the diversified miner when long-serving CEO Graham Kerr steps down in 2026, with Daley in the interim joining as deputy chief executive officer early next year.

Daley has more than 20 years of experience in the metals and mining industry and is expected to help the miner continue its base metals expansion. He will join South32 ( SHTLF ) from Anglo American plc ( AAUKF ), where he is currently the technical and operations director, South32 ( SHTLF ) said in a statement.

He joined London-listed Anglo American in 2017 as group head of mining, and has previously served as the executive general manager for Glencore's ( GLCNF ) Canadian copper division.

South32 ( SHTLF ), like other miners, wants to grow in energy transition metal copper, and Daley's background at Glencore ( GLCNF ) may help further that ambition. That comes after criticism by some investors that South32 ( SHTLF ) has been too timid on M&A.

"What are we flagging, that they are going to buy some copper?" said Chief Investment Officer Simon Mawhinney of Allan Gray. "It might be a case of 'join the queue'."

The appointment comes amid a generational change among the world's top miners with BHP's Mike Henry expected to step down in the coming year.

"Matthew is a highly accomplished executive with extensive operational and leadership experience, including in copper and in the Americas, and the board is confident he is the right successor for Graham," South32 Chair Karen Wood said in the statement.

Kerr has helmed South32 ( SHTLF ) since its split from BHP 10 years ago, making him among the longest serving mining CEOs, except for the near 20-year reign of Glencore's ( GLCNF ) Ivan Glasenberg.

Over that time, South32 ( SHTLF ) has sold out of coal and bought into copper and other base metals, adding value to a tough portfolio of assets, although some investors have said he could have done it faster.

There is also a question mark about how successful his U.S. Hermosa base metals projects in Arizona will prove to be given a high capital cost. South32 ( SHTLF ) approved $2.16 billion in capital investment last year.

Kerr told Reuters he will remain focused on a copper expansion at its Sierra Gorda joint venture in Chile and derisking Hermosa's Taylor project.

"We're still at that inflection point for the organisation where we're investing heavily in base metals," he said.

Kerr said it was time to move on after 10 years at the helm, but he hadn't thought much about life after South32 ( SHTLF ), beyond taking a break.

"I can't imagine myself just playing golf, to be honest."