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AngloGold’s capex project progressing as planned, within budget

17th November 2017

By: Mia Breytenbach

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: Features

     

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JSE- and New York-listed AngloGold Ashanti says its high-return and low-capital projects in its international portfolio to extend mine lives and improve margins remain on track and within budget.

“We expect . . . continued delivery to tight timelines and budgets on our portfolio-improvement projects,” AngloGold CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan noted in the company’s market update earlier this month.

During a conference call, Venkatakrishnan further added that, in terms of the company’s high-grade Obuasi development, in Ghana, AngloGold remains in advanced and constructive talks with the Ghanaian government regarding the creation of the necessary regulatory and fiscal certainty.

These regulatory and fiscal agreements were required before a decision could be made on whether and how to proceed with the development of the deposit into a modern, mechanised and highly productive gold mining operation, Venkatakrishnan reiterated.

While he was confident that progress would be made in terms of the agreements and frameworks before the full-year results announcement next year, he emphasised the need for patience in terms of the development.

Meanwhile, at the Siguiri gold mine, in Guinea, AngloGold is investing about $115-million to add a hard-rock plant to the current processing infrastructure, making it possible to develop the significant sulphide ore potential that exists on the current concession.

The company is also building a new $43-million power plant to provide electricity for the new facility.

As at September 30, $58.5-million had been spent on the project and $141.9-million committed. The project remains on schedule and the costs are currently expected to remain within budget. All major commitments have now been concluded.

The mill shells arrived on site in September, while offsite fabrication and the sourcing of electrical and instrumentation equipment and cabling continued during the past few months.

Major contractors have mobilised on site and the transition to a new mining contractor is set to start in February 2018.

At Kibali, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ramp-up of the underground mine, which will supplement and eventually replace openpit production, is under way.

The underground operation and integration and automation of the vertical shaft are proceeding to the final commissioning and automation stage. It is expected that the mine will achieve a significant increase in production once final shaft commissioning has been completed. Completion of the underground mine is expected in the fourth quarter of this year.

The vertical shaft construction progressed well during the quarter, when the underground materials handling system was completed.

Paving of the haulage level and automation development have also progressed, targeting the full commissioning and ramp-up of the shaft ore delivery system in the last quarter of the year.

Construction of the tailings return water detoxification facility was completed and commissioned during the third quarter.

The only major capital project following the underground development is the Gorumbwa resettlement project, stripping activities at mainly the Pakaka and Kombokolo pits and work at the third hydropower station, Azambi, which is on schedule to deliver its first power in the second quarter of 2018.

In South Africa, Anglogold is extending the life of its Mponeng mine, in Gauteng, initially through the Phase 1 project to access deeper, higher-grade ore through the development of a decline shaft below the current secondary shaft. Phase 1 is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.

In Phase 1, an additional ventilation hole is being created from Decline 3 to 116 Level to create more ventilation capacity, along with an ore pass down to 126 Level to ease ore handling logistics on 123 Level.

The completion of the water management infrastructure on 127 Level was delayed during the past few months, as a result of flooding of the emergency pumpstation and pumpstation panels.

The emergency pumpstation is still under construction at the bottom of the decline system and commissioning is expected by year-end.

Further, the construction and commissioning of the ore-handling infrastructure to 126 Level is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2018. Thereafter, the 126 Level ramp-up to steady-state ore reserve development will start.

Phase 2, which is under evaluation, will deepen the secondary shaft to further extend mine life.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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