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Godsell quits AngloGold Posted: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 [miningmx.com] -- BOBBY Godsell, CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, has resigned and will be replaced by CVRD Inco’s chief operating officer Mark Cutifani from the start of October. This is the second CEO of an Anglo American investment to resign in two days, with Ralph Havenstein, head of Anglo Platinum, announcing his departure on Monday. Anglo owns 75% of Anglo Platinum. Analysts doubted whether Anglo, which owns 42% of AngloGold and looking to exit its holding the the gold company, had much to do with Godsell's departure. "If Anglo is looking to get out of AngloGold then they're not really in a position to interfere too much. They're not as directly as involved in AngloGold as they are in Anglo Platinum," said a South African gold analyst. "His retirement has been coming for some time, but I didn't specifically see it coming this time round. He's been there for a long time and most of his contemporaries have left and he must be pretty close to retirement," the analyst said. "The last big deal he did was with Ashanti and that was some time ago now." Godsell has been CEO of AngloGold Ashanti since 1998 and headed Anglo’s gold and uranium division since July 1995. He has been with Anglo American since 1974. Cutifani, a 49-year-old Australian who is responsible for CVRD Inco’s global nickel business, will take up his new position from mid-September. “It is the right time to change leaders,” Godsell said in a statement. AngloGold chairman Russell Edey said: "I am confident that Mark Cutifani is a person with the necessary technical, financial and socially responsible business experience to meet the challenges which face AngloGold Ashanti in the years to come." Roberto Carvalho Silva has also stepped down from AngloGold Ashanti. Neville Nicolau will be the chief operating officer. "I don't think AngloGold was all that much of a success under Godsell. It's not the success story it could have been. The Ashanti takeover has been a disaster," said a second South African analyst. "The earnings haven't really come through as they should have. They've stagnated and not been able to buy anything." AngloGold's gold output in the June quarter was 1.35 million oz at a steady cash cost of $333/oz. Its adjusted headline earings of $82m against $98m in the previous quarter, bore the brunt of strong local operating currencies, increased exploration expenditure and reduction of its hedge book. AngloGold reduced its hedge book by 840,000oz to 8.75 million oz. It received nine percent less than the spot price for its gold sales. It forecast its third quarter output would be 1.48 milion oz at an total cash cost of $330 on a number of assumptions about local currencies in the countries in which it operates.
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