| Mon 25 May 2009, 8:36 | | ANG - AngloGold Ashanti - Seismic events at Anglogold Ashanti`s Savuka Mine |
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ANG
ANANO
ANG - AngloGold Ashanti - Seismic events at Anglogold Ashanti`s Savuka Mine
AngloGold Ashanti Limited
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
Registration Number: 1944/017354/06)
ISIN Number:ZAE000043485
JSE Share Code: ANG
("AngloGold Ashanti/Company")
SEISMIC EVENTS AT ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI`S SAVUKA MINE
AngloGold Ashanti regrets to announce that yesterday afternoon, Friday 22 May, a
series of seismic events was experienced at the company`s Savuka mine near
Carltonville, South Africa.
Emergency response procedures were immediately activated. Within several hours
of the incident being reported, all employees who were underground at the time
of the incident were evacuated through the shaft infrastructure at the
neighboring TauTona mine.
Unfortunately, in the course of the seismic events, a pump attendant, was
fatally injured.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani commented: "It is a matter of personal
concern to me that in the course of the incident the life of one of our
colleagues was lost. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the
friends and family and reiterate my objective of enabling AngloGold Ashanti to
operate deep-level mines in South Africa without fatalities."
"I would however like to commend the management team at Savuka for their prompt
and effective response to this incident. The fact that we were able to evacuate
all employees from underground within such a short space of time reflects the
high state of preparedness of the mine as well as the robust and well-rehearsed
emergency procedures in place. The fact that secondary escape ways are
available at Savuka also assisted the speedy evacuation."
Operations at the mine have been suspended. The extent of the damage caused by
the incident will be assessed over the course of the weekend and additional
updates provided as the situation becomes clearer. Savuka produced 14,000oz of
gold in the first quarter of 2009, just over 1% of total group production.
ENDS
JOHANNESBURG
25 May 2009
Contacts
Alan Fine (Media) Tel: +27 (0) 11 637 6383 Mobile: +27 (0) 83 250 0757
E-mail: afine@anglogoldashanti.com
Joanne Jones (Media) Tel: +27 (0) 11 637- 6813 Mobile: +27 (0) 82 896 0306
E-mail: jjones@AngloGoldAshanti.com
Certain statements made in this communication, including, without limitation,
those concerning AngloGold Ashanti`s strategy to reduce its gold hedging
position including the extent and effects of the reduction, the economic outlook
for the gold mining industry, expectations regarding gold prices, production,
cash costs and other operating results, growth prospects and outlook of
AngloGold Ashanti`s operations, individually or in the aggregate, including the
completion and commencement of commercial operations of certain of AngloGold
Ashanti`s exploration and production projects and completion of acquisitions and
dispositions, AngloGold Ashanti`s liquidity and capital resources, and
expenditure and the outcome and consequences of any pending litigation
proceedings, contain certain forward-looking statements regarding AngloGold
Ashanti`s operations, economic performance and financial condition. Although
AngloGold Ashanti believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-
looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such
expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, results could differ
materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of,
among other factors, changes in economic and market conditions, success of
business and operating initiatives, changes in the regulatory environment and
other government actions, fluctuations in gold prices and exchange rates, and
business and operational risk management. For a discussion of such factors,
refer to AngloGold Ashanti`s annual report for the year ended 31 December 2008,
which was distributed to shareholders on 27 March 2009 and the company`s annual
report on Form 20-F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the
United States on May 5, 2009. AngloGold Ashanti undertakes no obligation to
update publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after today`s date or to reflect the occurrence
of unanticipated events. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking
statements attributable to AngloGold Ashanti or any person acting on its behalf
are qualified by the cautionary statements herein. AngloGold Ashanti posts
information that is important to investors on the main page of its website at
www.anglgoldashanti.com and under the "Investors" tab on the main page. This
information is updated regularly. Investors should visit this website to obtain
important information about AngloGold Ashanti.
Date: 25/05/2009 08:36:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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