Gold-focused AngloGold Ashanti would look beyond gold "at the right time", CEO Mark Cutifani said on Thursday.

Cutifani told the Gordon Institute of Business Science that the company saw great opportunities in gold in the next three to five years.

"But once we get to where we should be, which is number one or number two of the gold industry, then we will have to think beyond that," he said.

"If we are number one or number two in the next three years, would we look beyond gold? Yes, we would," Cutifani confided.

The company already had uranium and copper and its deep-mining skills could conceivably create value propositions in metals other than gold.

In the five-to-ten-year timeframe, once global breadth and base had been established, a third step could be becoming a competitor to the top-five diversified miners.

Beyond the ten-year timeframe, opportunities to leverage other propositions off the mining base might arise, as countries became more protective of their natural resources.

Cutifani said that he was setting out to build a Johannesburg-based global mining company.

"South Africa deserves it," he said.

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.