AngloGold Ashanti claims empowerment successes
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I-Net Bridge
WORLD No2 gold miner AngloGold Ashanti announced empowerment charter credit of 20,4%, according to its own assessment, at a London investment conference last week.
AngloGold Ashanti`s empowerment credit comes from the sale of seven of its Vaal Reef shafts to African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) in January 1998, the disposal of some of FreeGold`s Western Holdings shafts and Welkom gold plant to ARM in June 1998, and the sale of some Free State assets to an ARM and Harmony Gold joint venture in January 2002.
`A plan is in place to achieve the 26% target,` AngloGold Ashanti said.
An application for the conversion of old-order mining rights to new order mining rights as determined in the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act was submitted by the group in late July.
However, the group`s empowerment credits have yet to be adjudicated and confirmed by the minerals and energy department, which oversees the process.
Department chief director Jacinto Rocha confirmed that AngloGold Ashanti had lodged an application for the conversion of its old-order mining rights to neworder mining rights.
Rocha said a total of about 50 applications had been received from mining companies for the conversion of their existing mining and prospecting rights to new-order mining and prospecting rights. Four hundred applications from concerns seeking totally new mining and prospecting rights had also been received.
South Africa`s mining charter, agreed in late 2002, requires the mining industry to transfer 15% of its assets to black empowerment concerns by May 1 2009 and 26% by May 1 2014.
In terms of the charter, mining companies must meet a number of requirements to convert their existing mining and prospecting rights to new-order rights, as well as to receive totally new rights. These involve beneficiation, procurement, employment equity, human resources development, mine community and rural development and migrant labour.
While the charter does not set specific targets for procurement, AngloGold Ashanti has set itself the target of having empowerment concerns procure 25% of the value of its purchases of consumables, mine site services and capital expenditure by 2007 with a target of 42% set for 2012.
Sep 21 2004 07:24:51:000AM Justin Brown Business Day 1st Edition
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