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Johannesburg - Regulatory safety stoppages have hampered production at some of AngloGold Ashanti's [JSE:AGL] South African mines, sometimes overshadowing good performance at certain operations.
Mponeng mine, which is part of AngloGold's West Wits operations, reported 54 000 ounces of production, down by 41% on a year-on-year comparison. Chris Sheppard, head of South African operations, attributed the weak performance in the third quarter to "continued safety-related challenges".
The miner reported a quarterly loss after the price of gold dropped and production declined. According to Bloomberg, its adjusted headline loss, excluding one-time items, was $52m in the three months ended September 30, from a profit of $26m in the previous quarter.
READ: AngloGold posts loss on metal price slump
Production fell 3.3% to 974 000 ounces from the previous quarter, still ahead of forecast.
AngloGold's Vaal River operations production fell by about 31 000 oz due to the safety stoppages.
Overall, AngloGold's South African operations produced 253 000 oz of gold in the third quarter of 2015, a 19% drop compared to last year.
Meanwhile, the all-in sustaining costs for the South African operations were 5% up at $1.176/oz. All-in sustaining costs is a measure that captures direct operating costs, corporate and exploration expenditure and the capital investment required to sustain the business.
The company said its cash costs rose by 6% to $959/oz mainly because of lower production and increases in power tariffs.
AngloGold shares stood at R104.65 in mid-afternoon trade, up 6.95%.
