AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] said it’s reviewing options to sell its South African business, including Mponeng - its last underground mine in the country, as the world’s No. 3 gold producer focuses on assets that generate higher returns.
“The investment to extend Mponeng’s life beyond eight years has very strong competition for capital and other scarce resources from a host of other projects in our portfolio, which at current planning assumptions are more attractive, generating higher returns and quicker payback periods,” Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Dushnisky said Thursday in a statement. “We have therefore decided to review divestment options for our South African business."
The sale of Mponeng would be the final step in AngloGold’s withdrawal from South Africa after it sold and shut other mines in the country to stem losses. The company said the process is at an early stage and may not ultimately result in any change to the ownership of the South African business.
CEO Dushnisky is refocusing AngloGold on longer-life and lower-cost operations, and since taking over in September he has announced plans to sell mines in Argentina and Mali.
Exiting its South African operations could be a precursor to AngloGold moving its listing to London or Toronto. That issue currently isn’t top of the company’s agenda, the CEO has previously said.