Australia’s new mining tax is a boost for South Africa, Canada and Brazil, says AngloGold Ashanti CEO Mark Cutifani, himself an Australian.

Cutifani tells Mining Weekly that he made the point to his fellow Australians that he regards South Africa as having less sovereign risk than Australia.

Cutifani expects the Australian government’s approach to taxing the mining industry in Australia – where AngloGold Ashanti has the producing Sunrise Dam as well as the promising Tropicana project – to be fully clarified in the next three months.

“We’ll be a constructive part of the conversations to try to help people understand that creating the world’s highest tax environment for the mining industry is probably not the best way to support an industry that has helped Australia to navigate the financial crisis better than most countries in the world.”

To watch a video in which AngloGold Ashanti CEO Mark Cutifani tells Mining Weekly Online’s Martin Creamer that off-putting new Australian mine taxes encourage investment in South Africa, click here.

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