The fatality rate at mining major AngloGold Ashanti's operations declined by a massive 57% in 2008, to 14 deaths, but CEO Mark Cutifani has averred that the company has set its sights on 'zero harm'.

"I do not know whether it will take a year, five years or ten years for the company to reach its target of zero harm, but the only debate that AngloGold Ashanti has in its organisation at the moment is when, and not if, the company will reach its intended zero harm target," he said at the launch of the company's '2008 Report to Society'.

He added that AngloGold Ashanti now had a team that believed that 'zero harm' was possible and the company was working towards achieving this goal as quickly as possible.

Further, Cutifani commented that if the company could not operate responsibly, it should not be in business, and that it was on that basis that AngloGold Ashanti would measure its success.

"Our experience continues to convince us that social and environmental responsibility are necessary conditions for ensuring productive operations. We believe safety, treating people with dignity and respect, acting responsibly within the environment and looking to create value for the communities in which we operate represent values that determine how we do business," he said.

Cutifani remarked that AngloGold Ashanti's Report to Society was not a "report of perfection, but an honest and transparent look at where the company is and what it is aiming to achieve".

The report assesses the company's performance in the areas of health and safety, labour, ethics and governance, the environment, and the regional health issues of malaria and HIV/Aids, besides others.

Cutifani said that reporting on social and environmental performance to business and social partners and other stakeholders was an indispensable feature of AngloGold Ashanti's social responsibilities. It was also one of the ways in which the company monitored its own performance.

AngloGold Ashanti measures its performance against a range of standards, the first being against its own values and principles. The report is produced in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative's G3 guidelines and also contains information on the company's commitment to, and performance in respect of, a number of other compacts that it has entered into, such as the United Nations Global Compact, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which deals with payments to governments, the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights and Security, the Mining Charter and the sustainability principles of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

Key indicators in the report have been reviewed by independent assuror PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Cutifani pointed out that, from an environmental perspective, the company's activities reflected its commitment to the communities in which it operated.

"We do face significant challenges on environmental management in some jurisdictions and in respect of dust management at our deep-level South African operations. However, we are working on the problems and we are committed to finding solutions that work for our partners.

"I noticed that the president of the African National Congress made the observation that many mining companies are not doing anywhere near enough or being constructive enough within the communities in which they operate. AngloGold Ashanti is hoping to have a meeting with the [him] in the coming weeks, [and] the company will ask him to help us understand his comments and what [AngloGold Ashanti], as an organisation, needs to do to better its efforts."

Cutifani noted that the company was looking for "everyone's input" to improve performance and aimed to be the partner of choice in the communities surrounding its operations.

He said that the mining industry was going through significant change and, given the pressures it was experiencing, he expected to see serious consolidation.

"I also anticipate that countries will become increasingly nationalistic and protective of their resources; countries and communities will be looking for companies that are all about partnerships where all parties share the value created by the company's activities," he concluded.