anglogold silent on large gold find in colombi

"AngloGold silent on ‘find’ in Colombia
Charlotte Mathews

Resources Editor

THE Colombian government last week leaked news of a major new gold find, which local newspapers said was on AngloGold Ashanti property.

But AngloGold did not confirm the report and markets failed to respond to the news, with the company’s shares falling 2,2% to R291,49 on Friday, defying an $11/oz, or 1,3%, appreciation in the gold price to almost $840/oz.

Global gold companies have spent the past few years trying to find new gold deposits. Because of years of political problems and crime, Colombia is one of the few remaining countries largely unexplored for gold.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said on December 20 that the country’s mining minister had told him of a major gold discovery that would require an initial $2bn investment and generate about 1200 jobs. According to Bogota’s El Tiempo newspaper, the deposit was near Ibagué in the central state of Tolima and was discovered by AngloGold.

Associated Press said AngloGold spokesman Charles Carter confirmed on Thursday that the company had an active exploration programme in Colombia, but he declined to comment on the newspaper article. AngloGold’s public affairs manager, Alan Fine , said yesterday that he could not add anything .

According to Uribe, details of the discovery would be released in February. AngloGold is scheduled to report on its year-end financial results on February 7.

In August AngloGold’s former chief operating officer, Roberto Carvalho Silva, told journalists visiting the group’s South American operations that the group needed to find a gold deposit in Colombia of at least 2-million ounces to justify the infrastructure costs of building a mine.

Early indications were that the deposit on its property at La Colosa could be even bigger than that, he said.

Colombia’s gold production, which Uribe said could double as a result of this discovery, was 15,7 tons or 553801o z last year.

Apart from the two properties at La Colosa and Gravelote, it has joint ventures with other operators on several other properties in Colombia for gold, zinc, copper, molybdenum and lead.

CEO Mark Cutifani said last month that encouraging results were emerging from drilling at the Miraflores prospect by joint venture partner B2Gold.


Colombian Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Luis Guillermo Plata said in October that the country sought to attract $8bn in foreign direct investment by year-end.

The country attracted $6,3bn last year and its economy was growing at about 7%, faster than the regional average, he said.
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