AngloGold CEO Alberto Calderon
Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti has started the year off well, with a 2% increase in production to 581 000 oz for the quarter ended March 31, despite the impact of heavy rain and flooding on output in Western Australia.
CEO Alberto Calderon says the company is seeing greater consistency from most of its operations, including better performance from its Brazilian mines, while the Obuasi mine, in Ghana, continues to ramp up.
Notably, the Obuasi mine produced 54 000 oz of gold in the quarter in line with its mine plan as mining occurred in lower grade areas.
The company expects an annualised production rate of 360 000 oz for the mine by the third quarter.
In the quarter under review, the Cubiabá, Serra Grande, Kibali and Gita mines delivered 55%, 40%, 19% and 16% more production, respectively.
This increase was partly offset by lower production at the Siguiri mine, which recorded a 35% decrease in output owing to poor recoveries from carbonaceous ore.
The company also reported a 17% decrease in output from the Tropicana mine owing to tropical cyclone-induced flooding.
Both the Siguiri and Tropicana mines have since recovered to normalised gold production levels.
AngloGold expects its yearly production to be weighted to the second half of the year, particularly in the fourth quarter. The company set its guidance at between 2.59-million and 2.79-million ounces in February, which would increase to between 2.65-million and 2.85-million ounces by 2025.
The company’s gold mines are based in in Ghana, Guinea, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.