ANGLOGOLD Ashanti is to cut as many as 2,000 jobs from the ranks of its support and services following a restructuring of its South African operations earlier this year, the firm’s divisional chief operating officer, Chris Sheppard, today confirmed.
“We have to cut our cloth,” he said. “Our South African operations have been reduced to 13% of total production [from 25%] which requires a cut in overheads related to non-core assets (not operating mines). The current rand gold price has not helped either,” he said. Sheppard was speaking on the sidelines of the Chamber of Mines annual general meeting in which the organisation was officially renamed Minerals Council of South Africa.
A Section 189 notice was issued to AngloGold’s affected South African operations on Monday, Sheppard confirmed. Parts of the organisation that would be affected included its hospitals and railway services, some of which would be sold if possible. “This decision was not taken lightly, but our financial position is such that we have to reduce our cost base, especially at our overhead structures,” said Sheppard.
“We will seek to either sell non-core assets where appropriate, donate where appropriate and as a last resort to demolish redundant structures,” Sheppard said. “We have four recognised unions and we have been in consultation with them. The reductions have to take place in order to make our remaining assets – Mponeng and Mine Waste Solutions – sustainable,” he said.
“We will look at transfers and alternative employment as well as non-core asset sales in order to cut job losses to an actual minimum,” said Sheppard.
AngloGold said in March that it had concluded the sale of the Moab Khotsong, Tau Tona and Kopanang mines for a combined gross amount of R3.57bn on February 28. Moab Khotsong was sold to Harmony Gold whilst Kopanang was sold to a Chinese company, Heaven-Sent SA Sunshine Investment Company.
The transactions were first announced on October 19. Proceeds from the sales would be used to reduce the group’s South African debt “… in line with AngloGold Ashanti’s strategic commitment to continually improve strategic and financial flexibility,” it said. The group’s remaining South African mines consist of the Mponeng underground mine and two surface operations comprising the Mine Waste Solutions tailings dump-retreatment business and the rock dump reclamation and processing business.
