AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a South African

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

company, with global operations. With a diverse portfolio of cooperation, projects, and exploration activities, AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 2004 by the merger of

AngloGold AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a South Africa, South African gold mining company, with global operations. With a diverse portfolio of cooperation, projects, and exploration activities, AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloG ...

and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. Based on 2023 production, it was the world’s 7th largest

gold miner Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

21 mining operations across four continents, listed on the

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, and

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stock exchanges, as well as the

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and

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bourses. The company left the JSE in 2023. AngloGold Ashanti has a history of gross human rights violations and causing grave environmental problems for which it won one of the Public Eye Awards.

History

AngloGold Ashanti was formed on 26 April 2004, after the High Court of Ghana approved the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation three days earlier. AngloGold had been a gold mining company based in South Africa, majority-owned by the Anglo American group. This came almost a year after the merger was announced on 16 May 2003. In the transaction, Ashanti shareholders received 0.29 ordinary shares of AngloGold for every Ashanti share.Annual Report 2005
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 11 July 2010 The new company sold its Union Reef Gold Mine in the

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of Australia in August 2004, followed by the sale of the Freda-Rebecca Gold Mine in

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a month later. In late 2007, Mark Cutifani replaced Bobby Godsell as CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, being appointed a director of the company on 17 September 2007 and as CEO on 1 October that year.Our executive team
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 9 July 2010 In 2008, AngloGold produced 4.98 million ounces of gold from its operations, estimated to be seven percent of the global production. In 2009, the company's gold output dropped to 4.6 million ounces. As of early 2008, the company had hedged 11.3 million ounces of gold, under previous CEO Bobby Godsell.AngloGold Ashanti eliminates hedge book, gains full exposure to gold
AGA website, published: 7 October 2010, accessed: 8 October 2010 In January 2009, AngloGold Ashanti sold its 33% stake in the Boddington Gold Mine in Australia to Newmont Mining for US$1.0 billion. In February 2009, the company's Tau Lekoa Gold Mine in South Africa was sold to ''Buffelsfontein Gold Mines Limited'' with ownership being transferred on 1 August 2010. In May 2010, Russell Edey, chairman of AngloGold since 2002 and, after the merger also of AngloGold Ashanti, was replaced by

Tito Mboweni Tito Titus Mboweni (16 March 1959 – 12 October 2024) was a South African politician who served as Minister of Finance of South Africa in the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa from 2018 to 2021. Mboweni was the eighth Governor of the So ...

. In October 2010, the company announced the elimination of the last of its hedge book. Under its new CEO, it gradually reduced the hedge to 3.22 million ounces of gold. In October 2010, this remaining amount was paid off with US$2.63 billion, or US$1,300 USD per ounce of gold. In 2011, AngloGold Ashanti moved into Eritrea to explore the

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for gold through a 50/50 joint venture set up in 2009 with Thani Dubai Mining. As of the third quarter of 2014, Anglogold was the world's third-largest producer of gold, behind Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining. As of 2019, the company was claimed to be the 'most sophisticated and technologically advanced' mining operations with strict adherence to safety regulations. In 2020, it sold its last South African mining assets to Harmony Gold for about R4.4 billion. It no longer has any operations left in South Africa but remains listed on the JSE. On 1 September 2020, Chief Financial Officer Christine Ramon became interim CEO following the resignation of Kelvin Dushnisky. There has been speculation that Dushnisky stepped down after shareholders questioned a bonus payment he received from his prior employer Barrick Gold while also taking a signing bonus from AngloGold Ashanti when he was appointed CEO in 2018. Alberto Calderon was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of AngloGold Ashanti on 1 September 2021 As of May 2023, AngloGold Ashanti was the world’s fourth-largest gold miner with assets in Ghana, Australia, the US, and Argentina. In January 2025 a Ghanaian small-scale miners' association reported that soldiers killed nine unarmed people at an AngloGold Ashanti mine in Obuasi. Kofi Adams, chairman of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, stated that 14 others were severely injured and emphasized that the victims were not armed. However, the Ghanaian army claimed that seven illegal miners were killed in a firefight, alleging that about 60 miners armed with locally manufactured rifles breached the mine's security fence and fired at a military patrol, prompting the shootout. AngloGold Ashanti is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.

Criticism

In August 2008 British charity

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published a report accusing Anglo American (who at the time owned 17% of AngloGold Ashanti) of profiting from the abuse of people in the

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in which the company operates. The company disclosed itself in 2006 or in 2008 for unacceptable safety performance in its platinum mines. Safety measures were taken. Additionally, in 2005 the staff of the AGA exploration team in Ituri made a US$8,000 payment to the FNI, which had been accused of committing various humans rights abuses. In January 2011, AngloGold Ashanti was awarded the ''Public Eye Global Award'' at the Public Eye Awards hosted with

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in Davos, Switzerland by the Erklärung von Bern, known in English as the Berne Convention. The award has been interpreted as being for the "most irresponsible company". The nominating organisation, WACAM (Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining), said the company had a history of "gross human rights violations and environmental problems." Colombia's Truth Commission found AngloGold Ashanti responsible for financing

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groups that murdered peasants and community leaders. The same company has been accused of destroying water sources and forcibly displacing thousands of people in the Cauca region.

Key figures

Financial

Financial figures for the company:

Gold production, 2004-2012

Gold production figures for the company's mines since 2004 in ounces per annum were * Figures for 2004 for Freda-Rebecca, Siguiri, Bibiani, Iduapriem and Obuasi are for the period from May to December, from the merger onwards, having belonged to Ashanti Goldfields Corporation before the merger. * Percentage figures behind names indicate the share of production of the mine belonging to AngloGold Ashanti. Production figures shown are those belonging to AngloGold Ashanti, not overall production. * ¹ The Bibiani Gold Mine was sold 1 December 2006. * ² The Moab Khotsong Gold Mine started production in 2006. * ³ The Freda-Rebecca Gold Mine was sold 1 September 2004. * ⁴ The Tau Lekoa Gold Mine was sold to ''Buffelsfontein Gold Mines Limited'', with ownership being transferred on 1 August 2010.

Carbon footprint

AngloGold Ashanti reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for 31 December 2019 at 2,570 Kt (-1/ y-o-y).Alt URL
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Fatalities

Fatalities in the South African gold mining industry, especially the underground mines, are common. As of 2009, 100 to 120 were reported every year. This did represent an improvement since 2007: AngloGold Ashanti has reduced the number of fatalities in its operations by 70%. One of the main reasons for this development was a program led by CEO Mark Cutifani aimed at reducing the company's number of fatalities to zero by 2015.AngloGold wants zero mine deaths by 2015
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'', published: 29 March 2010, accessed: 9 July 2010 Of the 16 fatalities experienced by the company in 2009, 13 were in South Africa (2007: 27 of 34, 2008: 11 of 14). Statistics company fatalities since 2004 founding:

References

Sources

AngloGold's response to Human Rights Watch allegations (pdf)
, 2005.
D.R. Congo: Gold Fuels Massive Human Rights Atrocities
– Human Rights Watch article
Anglo American: The Alternative Report

External links

* *
A Glittering Demon: Mining, Poverty and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglogold Ashanti Companies based in Johannesburg Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies in the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index South African companies established in 2004 Gold mining companies of South Africa Non-renewable resource companies established in 2004 Uranium mining companies of South Africa 2004 establishments in South Africa Gold mining companies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Companies in the GSE Composite Index