AngloGold Ashanti, a leading gold mining company, has confidently reaffirmed its 2023 production guidance. The company overcame earlier operational challenges in Brazil and Guinea, as evident in its third-quarter performance. Notably, AngloGold, with listings in New York and Johannesburg, reported zero fatalities in the first nine months.
In the third quarter, AngloGold built on its momentum, achieving a 3% increase in gold production over the second quarter. The company produced 673,000 ounces of gold, up from 652,000 ounces, largely due to processing more ore despite some decrease in recovered grades.
African mines, especially Iduapriem, Siguiri, and Kibali, led the quarter-on-quarter gold production gains, showing increases of 27%, 22%, and 13%, respectively. Additional contributions came from South America’s Serra Grande and Australia’s Tropicana. However, these gains saw a partial offset due to lower production at Ghana’s Obuasi, Brazil’s AGA Mineração, Argentina’s Cerro Vanguardia, and Australia’s Sunrise Dam. Even with Córrego do SÃtio in Brazil under care and maintenance, gold production rose by 5% quarter-on-quarter.
AngloGold has embarked on initiatives to bridge the value gap with its global peers. These efforts focus on cost-efficiency, extending mine life, prioritising safety, optimising cash flow, and ensuring successful project delivery. The company’s NYSE primary listing migration on September 25 enhances its access to the world’s largest capital market and positions it alongside top gold industry companies.
According to a report by Mining Weekly, CEO Alberto Calderon expressed confidence in the company’s direction. “Our third-quarter gold production improved, and we anticipate further increases for the rest of the year, aligning with our guidance. We are enhancing our competitiveness with our corporate restructuring complete, a sharpened focus on operations and projects, and progress in meeting our decarbonisation commitments,” he said in a release to Mining Weekly.
To sharpen management focus and direct capital more effectively, AngloGold started placing the loss-making Córrego do SÃtio mine in care and maintenance in August 2023. It also completed selling a 50% indirect interest in the Gramalote project to B2Gold Corp.
In the USA, AngloGold’s first development in Nevada’s Beatty Mining District is making strides. Earlier this year, it reported an 8.4-million-ounce mineral resource at the Merlin deposit. North Bullfrog’s final investment decision is set for 2024, pending permit approvals.
The company is also advancing its decarbonisation programme at Tanzania’s Geita and Western Australia’s Tropicana. Preparations for connecting Geita to Tanzania’s power grid, rich in renewable energy, are well underway. Tropicana has started constructing a 62 MW wind and solar facility.
Key third-quarter points include Geita’s strong finish target, Kibali’s 13% production rise, Iduapriem’s throughput increase, and Siguiri’s recovery post-tank failure. Sunrise Dam continues to yield positive results, with an 18% year-on-year improvement in underground ore processing.
For the nine months ending in September, gold production reached 1.909 million ounces. This figure slightly trails the 1.971 million ounces produced last year, mainly due to the carbon-in-leach tank failure at Siguiri and waste deposition suspension at Cuiabá. Despite these challenges, Siguiri has repaired its tank, and Cuiabá is set to surpass its annual gold production target.
