AngloGold Ashanti has reinstated annual guidance given improved operating certainty amid the Covid-19 pandemic and in anticipation of the conclusion of the sale of its South African assets at the end of this month.
On 14 September 2020, it was announced that all conditions precedent have been met with respect to the sale of AngloGold’s remaining mines in South Africa to Harmony Gold Mining Company. Consequently, the transaction is scheduled to close in accordance with the transaction agreement on 30 September 2020, upon which Harmony will assume full ownership and operation of all assets and liabilities that form part of the transaction.
“We are pleased to reintroduce guidance, which reflects our greater certainty in relation to full year operating performance,” says Christine Ramon, AngloGold Ashanti’s interim CEO. “Our operators have done an outstanding job managing through this period – limiting the impact of Covid-19 on production and costs, while prioritising the health of our employees and host communities.”
Annual guidance on financial and operating metrics was withdrawn on 27 March 2020 as the pandemic accelerated and many governments responded by restricting travel, closing borders and ordering some businesses to cease or limit operations. The Cerro Vanguardia mine in Argentina, Minera Serra Grande in Brazil and all South African operations were ordered to close for varying periods, while border closures slowed down the Obuasi Redevelopment Project. All subsequently returned to full production, whilst the completion date for the Obuasi project was moved out by three months to the end of the first quarter next year and it remains on track to meet that schedule.