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It would not be unexpected if Godsell ended up in politics - Venkat, CFO, AngloGold
In an interview on Radio 2000 @ 18:15 on Tuesday, 31 July 2007
[miningmx.com] -- IT would be no surprise if outgoing CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, Bobby Godsell, ended up in politics owing his long-term involvement with the South African government, said company CFO, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan (Venkat).
"That would be really great for the country," said Venkat speaking on the Moneyweb Power Hour, a week nightly radio broadcast. "Godsell is very passionate about South Africa and he has been involved with government for a very long time," Venkat said. Godsell said himself that he intended doing something broader for the country.
Earlier today, AngloGold Ashanti announced that Godsell would step down as CEO at the end of September. He will be replaced by Mark Cutifani who is the current COO of Brazilian mining company, CVRD Inco.
Speaking on a separate interview on The World At Six, which is broadcast on Talk Radio 702, Venkat said Godesell, who
had been with the company for 34 years, and had expressed the desire to move on to the board months ago, was involved in choosing his successor.
"He [Godsell] wanted to ensure that he hands over the reins to someone who shared his values," said Venkat.
Meanwhile, AngloGold Ashanti had increased its exploration spend from $100m last year to $103m this year. "We should be able to find at least two mines in the three countries where exploration projects are being carried out," said Venkat.
The company was currently undertaking exploration in the DRC, Australia and Colombia.
There were also a number of growth opportunities around the company's existing operations. "In Ghana, for instance, we have a lot of gold under the existing concession in our Obuasi mine and there isn't even a need to build a satellite deposit in the area," said Venkat.
Venkat said investors in the gold market could expect more upside in the share in the future. "The AngloGold
share is undervalued because of the Anglo American overhang and other issues surrounding the company. But over time shareholders can look forward to a lot of upside.
The company would continue to run down its hedge book, he said.
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