(TIME) -- Sam Jonah has been a global citizen since he left his native Ghana in his early 20s to study mining in Wales and then work in the mines in Australia. As head of Ashanti Goldfields, the gregarious Jonah helped steer Ghana's biggest company through the rocky waters of international expansion, spreading Ashanti's businesses across Africa. In 1996 Ashanti became the first African operating company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. This year, it finalized its sale to South African behemoth AngloGold to create the world's second biggest gold miner, AngloGold Ashanti. There have been setbacks: in 1999 Ashanti almost went under after a disastrous hedging decision made on Jonah's watch. As president and possibly the next CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, Jonah, Africa's most influential black miner, believes that African companies and governments must be held to international standards but that the southern hemisphere often gets the raw end of trade deals. "Globalization can bring tremendous benefits to Africa," says Jonah. "But there is no level playing field." --By Simon Robinson/Johannesburg