History
AngloGold Ashanti spent 2019-2023 restarting Obuasi and selling South African and other mines, then turned to Nevada, Ghana partnerships and a holding-company reorganisation.
2019-2021: Restarting Obuasi and selling up
The record opens in December 2019, when AngloGold Ashanti's Ghanaian subsidiary poured the first gold from the rebuilt Obuasi mine, suspended five years earlier. The first construction phase finished on time and on budget, with mining planned at 2,000 tons a day in 2020, rising to 4,000 by year-end.
Around the same time the company began selling assets. In December 2019 it and partner IAMGOLD agreed to sell their Sadiola stakes in Mali to Allied Gold. In February 2020 it agreed to sell its remaining South African mines, including Mponeng, Tau Tona and Savuka, to Harmony Gold, intending to use the proceeds to cut net debt. That sale closed on 30 September 2020, with US$200 million in cash received and further per-ounce payments possible from 2021. The Sadiola sale completed on 4 January 2021: AngloGold received US$25 million at completion, about US$1.8 million as a balance adjustment and an US$8.2 million dividend, with up to US$26.25 million more depending on later events. Mali's government raised its own stake, so each partner sold 40%.
In January 2020 AngloGold also republished a B2Gold study on the Gramalote project in Colombia, under which B2Gold would fund the next US$13.9 million of spending before each partner held 50%.
2021-2022: A new bet in Nevada
After the disposals, AngloGold turned to growth. In July 2021 it made a non-binding offer for the rest of Corvus Gold, a Nevada explorer next to its own ground, after a US$20 million loan in May. In September it signed a deal at C$4.10 a share in cash, costing about US$370 million and funded from group cash, with no AngloGold shareholder vote needed. The purchase completed on 18 January 2022, and the company said the Beatty District could reach first production in about three years.
In September 2022 it agreed to buy Coeur Sterling, which owns neighbouring Beatty properties, for US$150 million in cash, with another US$50 million due if a Mineral Resource above 3.5 million ounces is later declared. Coeur estimated 914,000 ounces at the time. The purchase closed on 4 November 2022. The company targeted about 300,000 ounces a year by the end of the decade. Share counts rose slightly over these years, from about 410 million in 2017 to about 418.6 million in 2022, though the filings do not explain the increase.
2023: Ghana, Colombia and a new holding company
In March 2023 AngloGold and Gold Fields agreed key terms for a proposed Ghana joint venture combining Gold Fields' Tarkwa mine with AngloGold's Iduapriem mine. Gold Fields would run it, with AngloGold holding one-third. It still needed Ghana government agreement, due diligence, final agreements and regulatory approvals.
On 18 September 2023 AngloGold agreed to sell its 50% of Gramalote to B2Gold for up to US$60 million, US$20 million at closing and the rest tied to milestones. A joint sales process had found no acceptable third-party offer and the project met neither partner's investment thresholds. Closing was expected by year-end, subject to South African Reserve Bank approval. AngloGold said it remained committed to its Quebradona project in Colombia.
The same day it announced that Ghana Stock Exchange trading would be suspended from 20 September as part of a reorganisation making AngloGold Ashanti plc, an England and Wales company, the group's holding company. Its shares were expected to start trading in Ghana on 26 September. As of 20 September 2023, the Ghana joint venture, the Gramalote sale and the reorganisation were all still to be completed.
Written from the 15 story beats below (2019 to 18 Sept 2023), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.