AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...

company. It was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the

Ashanti Goldfields Corporation The Ashanti Goldfields Corporation is a gold mining company based in Ghana that was founded by Joseph Ellis and Joseph Biney both from Cape Coast. The Ashanti Mine, located at Obuasi, 56 km south of Kumasi, has been producing since 1897. Dur ...

. It is now a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents. The company is listed on the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Johannesburg, Accra, London and Australian stock exchanges, as well as the Paris and Brussels bourses. 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 the third quarter of 2014, Anglogold was the world's third-largest producer of gold, behind

Barrick Gold Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democra ...

and

Newmont Mining Newmont Corporation is a gold mining company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States. It is the world's largest gold mining corporation. Incorporated in 1921, it owns gold mines in Nevada, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, the Domi ...

. The company is claimed to be the 'most sophisticated and technologically advanced' mining operations with strict adherence to safety regulations.

History

AngloGold Ashanti was formed on 26 April 2004, after the High Court of Ghana approved the merger of AngloGold and the

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

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

of Australia in August 2004, followed by the sale of the Freda-Rebecca Gold Mine in Zimbabwe 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 January 2009, AngloGold Ashanti sold its 33% stake in the Boddington Gold Mine in Australia to

for US$1.0 billion. Russell Edey, chairman of AngloGold since 2002 and, after the merger also of AngloGold Ashanti, was replaced by

Tito Mboweni Tito Titus Mboweni (born 16 March 1959) is 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 South African Rese ...

in May 2010. The company's Tau Lekoa Gold Mine in South Africa was sold to ''Buffelsfontein Gold Mines Limited'' in February 2009, with ownership being transferred on 1 August 2010. The company announced the elimination of the last of its hedge book in October 2010. The company had hedged 11.3 million ounces of gold, as of early 2008, under previous CEO Bobby Godsell. Under its new CEO, this was gradually reduced to 3.22 million. In October 2010, this remaining amount was paid off with US$2.63 billion, or US$1,300 per ounce of gold. 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. AngloGold Ashanti is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Chief Financial Officer Christine Ramon becomes interim CEO on 1 September 2020, 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

while also taking a signing bonus from AngloGold Ashanti when he was appointed CEO in 2018.

Criticism

In August 2008 British charity War on Want published a report accusing Anglo American (who at the time owned 17% of AngloGold Ashanti) of profiting from the abuse of people in the

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

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 The Public Eye on Davos, held every year between 2000 and 2015, was a counter-event to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The project involved non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world and was coordinated ...

hosted with

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

in Davos, Switzerland by the

Erklärung von Bern Public Eye is a sustainability-oriented, politically and religiously independent solidarity development non-governmental organisation based in Switzerland. Public Eye notably encourages Swiss politics and business to respect human rights and th ...

, 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."

Key figures

Financial

Financial figures for the company:

Gold production

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

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 Bibiani is a town and capital of the Bibiani/Anhwiaso/Bekwai Municipal Assembly, a Municipality within the Western North Region of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It ab ...

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
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', 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 listed on the New York Stock Exchange South African companies established in 2004 Gold mining companies of South Africa Companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange 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