Eurasian Natural Resources' (ENRC) chief executive Johannes Sittard took advantage of a slight rally in the resource company's share price to offload more than £800,000 in shares.
He sold 250,000 at 325p each leaving him with a holding of 1.6m shares.
Shares in Kazakhstan-focused ENRC, which is the world's largest ferroalloy producer and one of the biggest iron ore exporters, have fallen sharply over the past year in line with tumbling commodity prices.
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However, the shares are up from lows below 200p seen late last year, which compares with a high of 1,535p over the past year.
In November, ENRC said it was cutting back production and spending during the fourth quarter after the sharp slowdown in the global economy hit demand for the resources it produces.
Sittard, who has a Bachelor's Degree in Iron and Steelmaking from Technical University, Berlin, joined ENRC in 2001, having been president of ISPAT International, which is now known as Mittal Steel.
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