Integrated Report 2017
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REGIONAL REVIEWS Our South Africa region has undergone extensive restructuring to ensure its SOUTH AFRICA long-term sustainability Picture: Mponeng, South Africa INTEGRATED REPORT 2017 73 REGIONAL REVIEWS CONTINUED South Africa Click on the map below to enlarge AngloGold Ashanti’s three South • Mponeng, the world’s deepest gold mine Restructuring of the South Africa region African deep-level mines and and our flagship South African operation, exploits the Ventersdorp Contact Reef (VCR) AngloGold Ashanti decided during the surface production facilities via a twin-shaft system at depths of between year that TauTona (including its Savuka section) was to be placed on care are divided into three mining 2,800m and 3,400m below surface. Ore is and maintenance, followed by orderly treated and smelted at the mine’s gold plant. entities – Vaal River, West Wits closure. In addition, on 19 October and Surface Operations – which • TauTona, with a three-shaft system, exploits 2017, the company announced the comprise the following: the Carbon Leader Reef (CLR) predominantly proposed sale of Kopanang and Moab and the VCR on a small scale through Khotsong in two separate transactions. Vaal River technology, with secondary and tertiary These sales were concluded on 28 February 2018. 1 The two Vaal River mining operations, which shafts sinking to depths of between 2,700m share a milling and treatment circuit and are and 3,300m below surface. Following the full integration of Savuka into TauTona’s Contribution to regional production located around 180km from Johannesburg, (excluding technology) infrastructure in 2015 and to further improve near the Vaal River, on the Free State-North URANIUM* West Province border, are: efficiencies and benefit from economies of scale, ore mined at TauTona is processed at The uranium by-product is produced as 22 • Kopanang, which is bound to the south by 35 • West Wits Mponeng’s gold plant. TauTona’s final blast took oxide concentrates (U3O8) in the form of a the Jersey Fault, has a single shaft system to • Vaal River place on 15 September 2017, and the mine powder extracted from gold-bearing ore. a depth of 2,334m. It exploits the Vaal Reef % • Surface operations has since been placed into orderly closure. It is then processed into a ‘yellow cake’ almost exclusively, producing gold as its primary material that is transported in special- 43 output and uranium oxide as a by-product. Surface Operations purpose secure road tankers from the mine • Moab Khotsong, AngloGold Ashanti’s newest Surface Operations encompasses those facilities to the Nuclear Fuels Corporation of South South African mine, is located in the Free Africa (Nufcor) for further filtration and Contribution to group production at the Vaal River and West Wits operations which State and has a single shaft system mining calcining, resulting in uranium diuranate (in to a depth of 3,100m. Given the geological process and extract gold from: slurry form). The final product is shipped 24 • marginal ore dumps on surface complexity of the Vaal Reef, the mine’s to Nufcor’s major customers: nuclear • South Africa principal reef, scattered mining is employed. • tailings storage facilities on surface electricity generating utilities around the • Rest of AngloGold Great Noligwa’s operating infrastructure and world. Nufcor is a wholly-owned subsidiary % Ashanti employees have been incorporated into Moab Surface Operations also includes Mine 76 of AngloGold Ashanti and is arguably the Khotsong since 2015. Waste Solutions (MWS), which operates world’s longest continuous producer and independently, processing slurry material marketer of uranium. West Wits reclaimed hydraulically from various tailings The West Wits mining district’s operation, situated storage facilities. Uranium is produced as a * As of 1 March 2018, AngloGold Ashanti will not USEFUL LINKS south-west of Johannesburg, on the border by-product, as is backfill for use as mining produce uranium. Details of the sales are available on 1 Refer to Corporate developments on between Gauteng and North West Province, is: support in underground mined out areas. www.anglogoldashanti.com/investors/announcements page 77 INTEGRATED REPORT 2017 74 REGIONAL REVIEWS CONTINUED South Africa Key statistics Units 2017 2016 2015 Production (000oz) Operational performance 1,302 Tonnes treated/milled Mt 38.9 39.6 36.8 2013 (1) 1,223 Pay limit oz/t 0.43 0.37 0.39 2014 g/t 15.97 13.81 14.38 1,004 Recovered grade (1) oz/t 0.202 0.219 0.225 2015 967 g/t 6.93 7.51 7.70 2016 Gold production 000oz 903 967 1,004 903 Total cash costs $/oz 1,085 896 881 2017 Total production costs $/oz 1,247 1,089 1,091 All-in sustaining costs (2) $/oz 1,245 1,081 1,088 Capital expenditure $m 150 182 206 Productivity Productivity oz/TEC 3.57 3.56 3.74 (oz/TEC) Safety 4.47 2013 Number of fatalities 7 6 9 4.40 AIFR per million hours worked 12.68 12.02 10.81 2014 People 3.74 Average no. of employees: total 26,245 28,507 28,325 2015 3.56 – Permanent employees 22,738 25,205 25,274 2016 – Contractors 3,507 3,302 3,051 3.57 Training and development expenditure $m 28 29 29 2017 See footnotes overleaf INTEGRATED REPORT 2017 75 REGIONAL REVIEWS CONTINUED South Africa Key statistics (continued) Units 2017 2016 2015 AIFR (per million hours worked) Environment 12.63 Total water consumption ML 20,503 23,161 25,182 2013 11.85 Total water use per tonne treated kL/t 0.527 0.586 0.685 2014 Total energy usage PJ 10.05 10.54 10.65 10.81 Total energy usage per tonne treated GJ/t 0.26 0.27 0.29 2015 12.02 Total GHG emissions 000t CO e 2,733 2,864 2,756 2 2016 Total GHG emissions per tonne treated t CO2e/t 0.070 0.073 0.075 12.68 Cyanide used t 10,122 9,672 9,573 2017 No. of reportable environmental incidents 1 0 1 Total rehabilitation liabilities: $m 119 95 95 – restoration $m 18 15 18 Total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs – decommissioning $m 101 80 77 ($/oz) Community and government 2013 850 Community expenditure (3) $m 6 5 6 1,120 Payments to government $m 118 106 105 2014 849 1,064 – Taxation $m – – 4 2015 881 – Withholding tax (royalties, etc.) $m 5 5 5 1,088 – Employee taxes and other contributions $m 105 93 89 2016 896 1,081 – Property tax $m 3 4 3 2017 1,085 – Other (includes skills development) $m 5 4 4 1,245 (1) Refers to underground operations only. Total cash costs All-in sustaining costs (2) Excludes stockpile write-offs. (3) Includes corporate social investment expenditure. INTEGRATED REPORT 2017 76 REGIONAL REVIEWS CONTINUED South Africa Corporate developments • place on care and maintenance the It was, however, eventually decided in the in the West Wits region will form AngloGold Kopanang mine, a Vaal River operation, and latter half of the year to place TauTona and Ashanti’s operating base in South Africa, and Earlier in the year, AngloGold Ashanti signalled both TauTona and the Savuka section of Savuka on orderly closure. are expected to account for about 13% of to stakeholders that it would review its South the TauTona mine, in the West Wits district. production in 2018. African mining operations in light of the heavy, TauTona started mining operations in 1962, Additionally, on 19 October 2017, AngloGold and ultimately unsustainable losses being with the main shaft sunk in 1957. Savuka Ashanti announced that it had agreed to the Operational performance incurred. In June 2017, the company took had been in operation since 1958, with its disposal of the Moab Khotsong and Great a decision to restructure the South African Production operating life already extended 10 years Noligwa mines and related infrastructure, assets, to focus on returning the South African The South African operations produced beyond what was originally envisaged. including the Great Noligwa processing business to profitability while mitigating job 903,000oz, a 7% decrease year-on-year as Kopanang produced its first gold 36 years ago complex, the Vaal River villages and AngloGold losses. Some of our older mines in the South tonnes mined were affected by a poor start up Ashanti’s interest in the Margaret Water Africa region have reached the end of their • evaluate the feasibility of integrating to the year at all operations. Underground yield Company to Harmony Gold Mining Company economic lives, several decades after they elements of TauTona into the neighbouring dropped 8% to 6.93g/t, a result of lower feed Limited (Harmony). This transaction was also started production. These mines face systemic Mponeng mine. grades as well as higher dilution year-on-year. subject to a number of conditions precedent, challenges, including the near depletion of their This was mainly due to an increase in waste After the announcement was made outlining all of which were achieved in early 2018. Ore Reserve, increasing mining depths and tonnes at Moab Khotsong, moving away our intention to restructure the South African distance from central infrastructure, declining Consequently, the Moab Khotsong and Great from higher grade areas at Mponeng, and the business, unsolicited expressions of interest production profiles, and cost escalations that Noligwa sale transaction was concluded on reclamation of the tailing storage facilities at were received from several parties which have continued to outpace both inflation and 28 February 2018. the West Wits Surface Sources. ultimately led to the decision to sell Kopanang, a subdued gold price. The affected mines the nearby West Gold Plant and related Resultantly, as of 1 March 2018, AngloGold The decision to stop the loss-making are TauTona and Kopanang.