Exploration
The main objective of AngloGold Ashanti’s greenfield exploration team is to make significant, high-value gold discoveries in new and existing regions, while brownfield exploration focuses on incremental additions to known orebodies and new discoveries in defined areas around existing operations.
Total expensed exploration for 2011 amounted to $313m of which $98m was spent on greenfield exploration, $87m on brownfield and $19m on marine exploration. This includes $109m spent on prefeasibility studies.
The group's exploration programme, which covers greenfield, brownfield, and more recently, marine exploration, is conducted either directly or in collaboration with partners.
Greenfield exploration
An expansive greenfield exploration programme was undertaken in 17 countries during 2011. A total of 213,441m of diamond, reverse circulation and aircore drilling was completed in testing existing priority targets and in the delineation of new targets in Australia, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, the Solomon Islands, Gabon, Guinea, Egypt, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Canada. This compares with 276,346m drilled the previous year. Significant airborne geophysical surveys were undertaken in Colombia. Greenfield activities are undertaken through joint ventures, strategic alliances and wholly owned ground holdings. The principal objective of the greenfields exploration team is value creation through the discovery of new long-life, low-cost mines that maximise shareholder value. Discoveries and ground positions that do not meet certain investment criteria are jointventured or divested to maximise AngloGold Ashanti’s return on its exploration investment. For 2012, expensed exploration of $230m is planned (including expenditure at equity-accounted joint ventures), with $108m planned for greenfield exploration, $102m allocated for brownfield exploration and a further $20m for the De Beers joint venture focusing on marine exploration. A further $150m of expenditure is allocated to prefeasibility studies at the La Colosa and Gramalote projects in Colombia, as well as to feasibility studies on the Central Mongbwalu deposit in the DRC, and associated expenditures.
Brownfield exploration
AngloGold Ashanti continues to actively drive the creation of value by growing its major asset, namely its Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve. The drive is based on a well defined and active brownfields exploration programme, innovation in geological modelling and mine planning and continual optimisation of its asset portfolio.
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