Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves
AngloGold Ashanti had Mineral Resources of 218.2Moz and Ore Reserves of 78.9Moz as of 31 December 2004.
The year-on-year comparison listed below compares the combined December 2003 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves of both AngloGold and Ashanti to the December 2004 figures of AngloGold Ashanti.
Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC 2004), together with the South African Code for the Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC 2000). Mineral Resources are inclusive of the Ore Reserve component.
Mineral Resources
The 2004 Mineral Resources reduced by 48.0Moz or 18% to 218.2 million ounces, including a depletion of 8.4 million ounces. The single largest reduction in the Mineral Resource (37.8 million ounces) occurred at Western Ultra Deep Levels (WUDL), mainly as a result of a scoping study which indicated that the Mineral Resource did not show reasonable economic potential given the capital requirements and current costs. Other significant Mineral Resource reductions were the result of modelling changes at Obuasi (2.9 million ounces), and the exclusion of Goedgenoeg (2.5 million ounces) after scoping studies showed the Mineral Resource did not have reasonable potential to be profitably extracted in the future.
There were however some significant increases in Mineral Resource:
- an increase of 4.2Moz at Mponeng due to transfers from WUDL and increased values;
- an increase of 3.5Moz at Moab Khotsong as a result of Moab Extension being included;
- an increase of 1.0Moz at AngloGold Ashanti Mineração as a result of additions from Corrego do Sítio;
- an increase of 0.7Moz at Navachab due to footwall mineralisation and Anomaly 16; and
- an increase of 0.7Moz at Siguiri due to the inclusion of low grade stockpiles.
Ore Reserves
Ore Reserves show a year-on-year decrease of 5.0Moz to 78.9Moz. Depletion totalled 7.6Moz during the year. Ore Reserves have been determined at a gold price of $375 per ounce, with sensitivities at $350 per ounce and $400 per ounce. In determining the economic parameters to be used, AngloGold Ashanti has been guided by the preferred position of the SEC in the USA, whereby the economic parameters used are based on a three-year historical average. These economic assumptions are regarded by AngloGold Ashanti's executive as being conservative when compared to their long-term view. In respect of AngloGold Ashanti's South African and Australian assets, exchange rates of ZAR7.86 = $1 and A$1.43 = $1 respectively have been assumed. The Ore Reserves are relatively insensitive to changes in gold price and exchange rates of up to 10%, positive or negative. The principal changes in AngloGold Ashanti's Ore Reserves, for reasons other than depletion, are as follows:
- an increase of 1.2Moz at Kopanang with Edom now being included;
- an increase of 1.1Moz at Geita due to extensions to the Nyankanga, Lone Cone and Geita Hill orebodies resulting from additional drilling. A planned relocation of the Nyankanga storm water diversion channel has allowed for an additional cutback;
- an increase of 0.9Moz at AngloGold Ashanti Mineração due to new drilling information which resulted in the reclassification of the Ore Reserves at Cuiabá down to 15 level;
- an increase of 0.8Moz at Great Noligwa due to the inclusion of the SV2 pillars;
- an increase of 0.6Moz at Moab Khotsong due to increased area to be mined and values;
- an increase of 0.4Moz at CC&V due to the inclusion of the Wildhorse Extension;
- an increase of 0.2Moz at Siguiri due to additions of the Kami North and Eureka North pits, and the planned treatment of low grade stockpiles;
- an increase of 0.2Moz at Savuka due to ground being transferred from TauTona;
- a decrease of 1.2Moz at Obuasi due to the removal of remnant blocks, the Anyankyriem surface reserves and additional drilling information;
- a decrease of 0.6Moz at Tau Lekoa due to the exclusion of the Above 800 Project;
- a decrease of 0.6Moz at Iduapriem/Teberebie due to the removal of the A Zone;
- a decrease of 0.4Moz at TauTona due to reserves transferred to Savuka and a lower Mine Call Factor; and
- a decrease of 0.3Moz due to the sale of Freda-Rebecca.
AngloGold Ashanti will continue to pursue a strategy of increasing value-adding reserves through expansion projects, brownfields and greenfields exploration and acquisition of new assets.
Effect of the AngloGold Ashanti business combination
The Ore Reserves in respect of the AngloGold assets alone decreased from 63.1Moz as at 31 December 2003 to 60.9Moz as at 31 December 2004, and Mineral Resources decreased from 212.7Moz to 170.7Moz. The effect of the business combination AngloGold with Ashanti was therefore to increase Ore Reserves by 20.3Moz and Mineral Resources by 52.9Moz.
Audit of 2003 Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve statement
During the course of the year, the AngloGold Ashanti 2003 Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Statement was submitted to independent consultants for review. The mineral resources and ore reserves from eight of AngloGold Ashanti's global operations were randomly selected and subjected to review. The company has been informed that the audit identified no material shortcomings in the process by which AngloGold Ashanti's reserves and resources were evaluated. It is the company's intention to repeat this process so that all its operations will be audited over a three-year period. The audit of those operations selected for review during 2005 is currently in progress.
Competent persons
The information in this report that relates to exploration results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by the competent persons listed below. They are either members of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) or recognised overseas professional organisations. They are all full-time employees of the company.
The competent person for AngloGold Ashanti Exploration is:
- GF Wylie, MSc (Mining Engineering), BSc (Hons) (Geology), Dip Mgmt, AusIMM application pending, 28 years experience.
Competent persons for AngloGold Ashanti's Mineral Resources are:
- VA Chamberlain, MSc (Mining Engineering), BSc (Hons) (Geology), MAusIMM, 19 years experience.
- MF O'Brien, MSc (Mining Economics), BSc (Hons) (Geology), Dip Data, Pr.Sci.Nat., MAusIMM, 25 years experience.
Competent persons for the AngloGold Ashanti's Ore Reserves are:
- C Brechtel, MSc (Mining Engineering), MAusIMM, 29 years experience.
- BW Guenther, BSc (Mining Engineering), MAusIMM, 24 years experience.
- DL Worrall, ACSM, MAusIMM, 24 years experience.
- J van Zyl Visser, BSc (Mineral Resource Management), PLATO, 18 years experience.
The competent persons consent to the inclusion of the exploration, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves information in this report, in the form and context in which it appears.
Notes
A detailed breakdown of the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves is available in a
supplementary statistics
document (PDF - 1.8MB), provided in the annual report section of the AngloGold Ashanti website
(www.anglogoldashanti.com) and may be downloaded as PDF files using Adobe Acrobat Reader. This information is also obtainable from the AngloGold Ashanti offices at the addresses given at the back of this report.
Ore Reserves by country
| | | Metric | | | Imperial | |
| | Tonnes
million | Grade
g/t | Contained
gold
tonnes | Tons
million | Grade
oz/t | Contained
gold
Moz |
| South Africa | Proved | 30.9 | 5.21 | 160.8 | 34.0 | 0.152 | 5.2 |
| Probable | 256.8 | 4.11 | 1,056.7 | 283.1 | 0.120 | 34.0 |
| | Total | 287.7 | 4.23 | 1,217.5 | 317.1 | 0.123 | 39.1 |
| Argentina* | Proved | 0.6 | 9.99 | 6.0 | 0.7 | 0.291 | 0.2 |
| Probable | 6.2 | 6.87 | 42.9 | 6.9 | 0.200 | 1.4 |
| | Total | 6.9 | 7.15 | 49.0 | 7.6 | 0.209 | 1.6 |
| Australia* | Proved | 45.8 | 1.21 | 55.6 | 50.5 | 0.035 | 1.8 |
| Probable | 102.6 | 1.33 | 135.9 | 113.0 | 0.039 | 4.4 |
| | Total | 148.4 | 1.29 | 191.5 | 163.6 | 0.038 | 6.2 |
| Brazil* | Proved | 3.3 | 6.58 | 21.4 | 3.6 | 0.192 | 0.7 |
| Probable | 8.6 | 7.59 | 65.5 | 9.5 | 0.221 | 2.1 |
| | Total | 11.9 | 7.31 | 86.9 | 13.1 | 0.213 | 2.8 |
| Ghana* | Proved | 45.0 | 2.09 | 94.3 | 49.6 | 0.061 | 3.0 |
| Probable | 43.8 | 6.23 | 273.1 | 48.3 | 0.182 | 8.8 |
| | Total | 88.9 | 4.13 | 367.3 | 98.0 | 0.120 | 11.8 |
| Guinea* | Proved | 21.6 | 0.77 | 16.6 | 23.9 | 0.022 | 0.5 |
| Probable | 32.7 | 1.10 | 35.9 | 36.0 | 0.032 | 1.2 |
| | Total | 54.3 | 0.97 | 52.5 | 59.9 | 0.028 | 1.7 |
| Mali* | Proved | 8.1 | 2.74 | 22.1 | 8.9 | 0.080 | 0.7 |
| Probable | 15.0 | 3.31 | 49.7 | 16.6 | 0.097 | 1.6 |
| | Total | 23.1 | 3.11 | 71.8 | 25.5 | 0.091 | 2.3 |
| Namibia | Proved | 0.9 | 1.09 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.032 | 0.0 |
| Probable | 6.9 | 2.06 | 14.2 | 7.6 | 0.060 | 0.5 |
| | Total | 7.9 | 1.94 | 15.3 | 8.7 | 0.057 | 0.5 |
| Tanzania | Proved | 24.4 | 3.01 | 73.7 | 26.9 | 0.088 | 2.4 |
| Probable | 46.2 | 4.49 | 207.4 | 50.9 | 0.131 | 6.7 |
| | Total | 70.6 | 3.98 | 281.1 | 77.9 | 0.116 | 9.0 |
| USA* | Proved | 47.9 | 1.07 | 51.2 | 52.8 | 0.031 | 1.6 |
| Probable | 73.9 | 0.94 | 69.4 | 81.5 | 0.027 | 2.2 |
| | Total | 121.8 | 0.99 | 120.6 | 134.3 | 0.029 | 3.9 |
| Totals* | Proved | 228.6 | 2.20 | 502.7 | 252.0 | 0.064 | 16.2 |
| Probable | 592.8 | 3.29 | 1,950.8 | 653.4 | 0.096 | 62.7 |
| | Total | 821.4 | 2.99 | 2,453.6 | 905.4 | 0.087 | 78.9 |
|
* Reserves attributable to AngloGold Ashanti |
Rounding of figures in this report and in the supplementary statistics document may result in minor computational discrepancies.
Mineral Resources by country(1)
| | | Metric | | | Imperial | |
| | Tonnes
million | Grade
g/t | Contained
gold
tonnes | Tons
million | Grade
oz/t | Contained
gold
Moz |
| South Africa(2) | Measured | 90.3 | 5.13 | 463.1 | 99.5 | 0.150 | 14.9 |
| Indicated | 423.9 | 6.51 | 2,758.5 | 467.3 | 0.190 | 88.7 |
| Inferred | 135.3 | 3.08 | 417.1 | 149.1 | 0.090 | 13.4 |
| | Total | 649.5 | 5.60 | 3,638.7 | 716.0 | 0.163 | 117.0 |
| Argentina** | Measured | 7.9 | 2.06 | 16.3 | 8.7 | 0.060 | 0.5 |
| Indicated | 19.4 | 3.77 | 73.3 | 21.4 | 0.110 | 2.4 |
| Inferred | 3.5 | 5.40 | 18.7 | 3.9 | 0.158 | 0.6 |
| | Total | 30.8 | 3.52 | 108.3 | 34.0 | 0.103 | 3.5 |
| Australia** | Measured | 59.7 | 1.26 | 75.2 | 65.8 | 0.037 | 2.4 |
| Indicated | 146.0 | 1.26 | 184.4 | 160.9 | 0.037 | 5.9 |
| Inferred | 84.7 | 1.20 | 101.7 | 93.4 | 0.035 | 3.3 |
| | Total | 290.3 | 1.24 | 361.3 | 320.0 | 0.036 | 11.6 |
| Brazil** | Measured | 8.1 | 6.73 | 54.6 | 8.9 | 0.196 | 1.8 |
| Indicated | 15.2 | 7.80 | 118.4 | 16.8 | 0.228 | 3.8 |
| Inferred | 23.0 | 7.22 | 165.9 | 25.4 | 0.211 | 5.3 |
| | Total | 46.3 | 7.32 | 338.9 | 51.0 | 0.214 | 10.9 |
| Ghana** | Measured | 91.6 | 3.90 | 357.0 | 101.0 | 0.114 | 11.5 |
| Indicated | 74.0 | 5.10 | 377.4 | 81.6 | 0.149 | 12.1 |
| Inferred | 36.6 | 9.04 | 331.2 | 40.3 | 0.264 | 10.6 |
| | Total | 202.2 | 5.27 | 1,065.7 | 222.9 | 0.154 | 34.3 |
| Guinea** | Measured | 32.6 | 0.78 | 25.4 | 35.9 | 0.023 | 0.8 |
| Indicated | 74.4 | 1.00 | 74.6 | 82.0 | 0.029 | 2.4 |
| Inferred | 25.7 | 1.18 | 30.4 | 28.3 | 0.034 | 1.0 |
| | Total | 132.7 | 0.98 | 130.4 | 146.3 | 0.029 | 4.2 |
| Mali** | Measured | 16.5 | 2.10 | 34.6 | 18.2 | 0.061 | 1.1 |
| Indicated | 23.9 | 2.74 | 65.4 | 26.3 | 0.080 | 2.1 |
| Inferred | 36.6 | 2.12 | 77.4 | 40.3 | 0.062 | 2.5 |
| | Total | 76.9 | 2.31 | 177.4 | 84.8 | 0.067 | 5.7 |
| Namibia | Measured | 9.2 | 0.73 | 6.7 | 10.1 | 0.021 | 0.2 |
| Indicated | 63.0 | 1.30 | 81.7 | 69.4 | 0.038 | 2.6 |
| Inferred | 65.6 | 1.13 | 74.4 | 72.3 | 0.033 | 2.4 |
| | Total | 137.7 | 1.18 | 162.8 | 151.8 | 0.034 | 5.2 |
| Tanzania | Measured | 39.4 | 2.72 | 107.2 | 43.4 | 0.079 | 3.4 |
| Indicated | 103.3 | 3.66 | 377.7 | 113.9 | 0.107 | 12.1 |
| Inferred | 27.1 | 2.91 | 79.0 | 29.9 | 0.085 | 2.5 |
| | Total | 169.8 | 3.32 | 563.9 | 187.2 | 0.097 | 18.1 |
| USA | Measured | 80.6 | 1.00 | 80.6 | 88.8 | 0.029 | 2.6 |
| Indicated | 122.8 | 0.96 | 117.3 | 135.4 | 0.028 | 3.8 |
| Inferred | 45.3 | 0.91 | 41.1 | 49.9 | 0.027 | 1.3 |
| | Total | 248.7 | 0.96 | 239.0 | 274.1 | 0.028 | 7.7 |
| Totals** | Measured | 435.9 | 2.80 | 1,220.7 | 480.5 | 0.082 | 39.2 |
| Indicated | 1,065.8 | 3.97 | 4,228.7 | 1,174.8 | 0.116 | 136.0 |
| Inferred | 483.2 | 2.77 | 1,336.9 | 532.6 | 0.081 | 43.0 |
| | Total | 1,984.9 | 3.42 | 6,786.4 | 2,188.0 | 0.100 | 218.2 |
| ** | Resources attributable to AngloGold Ashanti |
| (1) | Inclusive of the Ore Reserve component |
| (2) | It is anticipated that 10.7Moz of the South African Region's published Mineral Resources will be taken up in stabilising pillars. |
Rounding of figures in this report and in the supplementary statistics document may result in minor computational discrepancies.
|