AngloGold Ashanti is on track to meet cost and production guidance
JOHANNESBURG – AngloGold Ashanti Interim Chief Executive Officer Christine Ramon has affirmed that the Company is on track to meet its cost and production guidance for 2020, given a strong operating performance from its key assets.
The Company’s guidance was initially withdrawn in March this year due to the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Revised guidance was issued on 21 September 2020, pegging production for the year between 3.03Moz and 3.10Moz, and all-in sustaining costs between $1,060/oz and $1,120/oz.
AngloGold Ashanti maintains a prudent approach to long-term mine planning, using a $1,200/oz gold price for its Ore Reserve calculations in 2020.
AngloGold Ashanti has strengthened its balance sheet by reducing borrowings, increasing liquidity and extending the average maturity of its debt by issuing a $700m, 10-year bond at a coupon of 3.75%, the lowest it has ever achieved.
The Company is on track to build on the robust free cash flow of $516m in the first nine months of the year and is expected to post its strongest annual free cash flow performance in almost a decade. Last month, the Company announced that it will double its pay-out ratio to 20% of free cash flow, before accounting for growth capital expenditure.
Adjusted net debt is expected to fall further by year-end after already declining by nearly half to $875m, in the nine months through to 30 September 2020.
