| Fri 2 Mar 2012, 17:15 | | ANG - AngloGold Ashanti Limited - AngloGold Ashanti to acquire Mine Waste |
|
ANG
ANANO
ANG - AngloGold Ashanti Limited - AngloGold Ashanti to acquire Mine Waste
Solutions from first Uranium Corporation
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")
ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI to ACQUIRE MINE WASTE SOLUTIONS FROM FIRST URANIUM
CORPORATION
AngloGold Ashanti has agreed to acquire First Uranium (Pty) Ltd (South
Africa) ("FUSA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Toronto-based First Uranium
Corporation ("FIUC") and the owner of Mine Waste Solutions ("MWS"), a
recently commissioned tailings retreatment operation located in South
Africa`s Vaal River region and in the immediate proximity of AngloGold
Ashanti`s own tailings facilities, for an aggregate cash consideration of
US$335 million (the "transaction"). The transaction will be funded from
cash reserves and debt facilities and remains subject to various
conditions, detailed below.
"This is an excellent add-on opportunity for our Company located in a
region where we already have a prominent presence," said Mark Cutifani, CEO
of AngloGold Ashanti. "The transaction provides us with valuable gold and
uranium production, offers significant synergies, facilitates
rehabilitation of this area and secures further and long-term employment
opportunities. Not only will it add 75,000 to 80,000 ounces to our total
output and provide further gold and uranium production upside and
significant life extension through synergies between our existing assets
and the assets of FUSA/MWS but we have been able to fund a large part of
this acquisition from cash generated from our operations"
The transaction is expected to provide a number of benefits to AngloGold
Ashanti, including:
- Enhancing AngloGold Ashanti`s gold and uranium mineral resources and ore
reserves. MWS`s tailings facilities contain a mineral resource of
approximately 352Mt, containing 2.8Moz of gold and 62.1Mlbs of uranium.
Following the transaction, combined with AngloGold Ashanti`s Vaal River
tailings (491Mt, containing 4.9Moz of gold and 92.3Mlbs of uranium),
AngloGold Ashanti will own tailings facilities in the Vaal River region
containing a combined mineral resource of 7.7Moz of gold and 154.4Mlbs of
uranium.
- Improving AngloGold Ashanti`s annual gold production with an anticipated
additional attributable net gold production of 75,000oz to 80,000oz per
annum expected to increase to more than 100,000oz per annum in the longer
term (taking into account the revised agreement with Franco Nevada, as set
out below).
- Enhancing AngloGold Ashanti`s position as a material long term uranium
producer as a by-product of its gold production. Once the MWS processing
plant`s uranium circuit is installed and commissioned by AngloGold Ashanti
in 2014 (the MWS processing plant, which has a capacity to treat 22Mt of
tailings per annum, was designed to produce both gold and uranium, however
under FIUC`s ownership the uranium circuit has yet to be finally installed
and commissioned), it will allow AngloGold Ashanti to increase its long-
term uranium production anticipated to between 3.0Mlbs and 4.5Mlbs per
annum. AngloGold Ashanti produced 1.38Mlbs of uranium in 2011;
- Through the processing of both the Vaal River and MWS tailings
facilities, the operation is anticipated to have a life in excess of 30
years. As a long-life surface tailings retreatment operation, the MWS
operation will complement AngloGold Ashanti`s long-life South African
underground operations;
- With over 35-years of experience in the processing of tailings for the
recovery of gold and uranium, AngloGold Ashanti can use its substantial
available skills, technology and familiarity with the processing of
tailings dams to maximise gold and uranium recoveries at MWS and to deliver
improvements in throughput and operating costs; and
- The acquisition of the MWS operation not only eliminates a substantial
capital investment that would otherwise be required by AngloGold Ashanti to
construct a plant to process its Vaal River tailings, but also, through the
processing of these tailings dams, significantly reduces associated, long-
term potential environmental liabilities, closure and rehabilitation costs
at AngloGold Ashanti`s Vaal River operations.
In respect of MWS, FIUC previously entered into a financing arrangement
with Franco Nevada Corp. ("Franco Nevada") that required the delivery of
25% of the gold produced by the MWS plant from the MWS tailings dams at a
price of US$400 per ounce (escalating at 1% per annum from December 2012).
Consequently only 75% of the gold produced by the MWS processing plant is
currently attributable to FIUC, with the remaining 25% being delivered to
Franco Nevada. Conditional upon the implementation of the transaction,
AngloGold Ashanti has entered into an amended agreement with Franco Nevada
in terms of which the following improvements to the previous financing
arrangement with FIUC have been agreed:
- AngloGold Ashanti will have the ability to comingle its tailings with MWS
tailings if required and feed these through the MWS processing plant;
- AngloGold Ashanti`s total gold delivery obligations to Franco Nevada (25%
of the gold production from the MWS processing plant, or greater at the
sole election of AngloGold Ashanti) are capped at 312,500ozs effective from
1 January 2012. Once this cap is reached, 100% of the gold produced from
the MWS processing facility will be attributable to AngloGold Ashanti; and
- the current security package held by Franco Nevada over MWS assets has
been replaced with an unsecured parent guarantee from AngloGold Ashanti.
The transaction remains subject to the fulfillment of various conditions
precedent, including approvals from:
- the South African Competition Tribunal;
- the South African Reserve Bank;
- the JSE Limited and the Toronto Stock Exchange, to the extent
necessary
- the holders of FIUC Group`s C$110m and ZAR418.5m convertible notes due
31 March 2013 and senior unsecured convertible debentures due 30 June 2012;
and
- no less that 66 2/3% of the total votes cast by the FIUC shareholders,
as well as the approval of 50.1% of the votes cast by the FIUC shareholders
excluding the votes cast by AngloGold Ashanti, at a duly called and
properly constituted meeting of FIUC shareholders.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of Q2, 2012.
AngloGold Ashanti currently holds a 19.8% equity interest in FIUC.
Johannesburg
2 March 2012
Sponsor and financial adviser: UBS
Legal Advisers: Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs
Legal Advisers as to Canadian Law: Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
ENDS
Contacts
Tel: E-mail:
Alan Fine (Media) +27 11 637 6383 afine@AngloGoldAshanti.com
Mike Bedford (Investor) +27 11 637 6273 mbedford@anglogoldashanti.com
Stewart Bailey(Investor)+1 2128364303 sbailey@anglogoldashanti.com
Certain statements made in this communication, including, without
limitation, those concerning 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 the completion
of announced mergers and acquisitions transactions, AngloGold Ashanti`s
liquidity, capital resources and capital expenditure and the outcome and
consequences of any litigation or regulatory proceedings or environmental
issues, 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 including
environmental approvals and actions, fluctuations in gold prices and
exchange rates, and business and operational risk management. For a
discussion of certain of these and other factors, refer to AngloGold
Ashanti`s annual report for the year ended 31 December 2010, which was
distributed to shareholders on 29 March 2011 and the company`s 2010 annual
report on Form 20-F, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission in the United States on May 31, 2011. These factors are not
necessarily all of the important factors that could cause AngloGold
Ashanti`s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could
also have material adverse effects on future results. 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.
This communication may contain certain "Non-GAAP" financial measures.
AngloGold Ashanti utilises certain Non-GAAP performance measures and ratios
in managing its business. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in
addition to, and not as an alternative for, the reported operating results
or cash flow from operations or any other measures of performance prepared
in accordance with IFRS. In addition, the presentation of these measures
may not be comparable to similarly titled measures other companies may use.
AngloGold Ashanti posts information that is important to investors on the
main page of its website at www.anglogoldashanti.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: 02/03/2012 17:15:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the
JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or
implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or
completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers,
employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature,
howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
