Ghana has hit the headlines lately for all the wrong reasons, with the volatility of the gold price playing havoc with the country's export earnings, which dropped almost 16% year-on-year to US$2.7 billion in the first eight months of 2013. With major mining players already announcing redundancies, the future of the country's gold mining industry appears somewhat bleak.
However, one miner may finally have a happier Ghanaian story to tell. Malaria has long been a huge problem, not only as a key cause of adult morbidity and the country's single biggest killer of children under five, but also a leading cause of workdays lost due to illness. So in 2006 AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (AGA) launched an indoor residual spraying programme in houses, hospitals, orphanages and other buildings aimed at reducing malaria by 50% in the municipal district of Obuasi, which is home to one of the company's key gold mining operations.
Speaking at the World Gold Council's 'Gold for Health' panel discussion at Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Dr Brian Chicksen, Vice-president for Safety at AGA, highlighted the innovative thinking behind the project. "In many ways what we have done in Ghana is not rocket science, but it's innovative in the sense that it brings together a whole lot of different pieces into one and the programme has had a meaningful impact on the area of Obuasi, which is intimately linked with mining."
After an initial investment of US$1.7 million in the first year and around US1.3 million each year thereafter, in just two years the company saw the incidence rate of malaria in the local population plummet 72%. Lost days due to malaria were reduced by from 6,983 per month to just 282 days by 2009. There were 6,711 cases of malaria recorded at the Edwin Cade Hospital in Obuasi in 2005. By mid-2013 that figure had shrunk to just 238 cases. In 2009 AGA together with the Ghanaian government received a US$133 million grant for a five-year period from The Global Fund to roll out a programme based on the Obuasi model across 40 districts in the country.
Fellow panelist Dr Brian Brink, Anglo American plc's chief medical officer and a board member of The Global Fund, highlighted the significance of AGA's initiative: "You've heard how they came to mine gold and in the process they've taken away probably the single most urgent health issue for the entire community not just around the gold mine but extending right into the depths of Ghana. Mining has made a huge difference to something that matters most to people there. "You can't run a profitable mine in a community that's sick. We've heard how business can change that and it's not just about gold mining, but the extractive industries in general."
Chicksen added that the company has already rolled out similar programmes in Mali, Tanzania and Guinea and has ambitious plans to expand the programme's good work in Ghana, but admits there are still some considerable challenges ahead. "We are faced with the challenge of how we make the structure we've created sustainable and the transition of that vehicle from the private sector into something that is more broadly owned by the people of Ghana in a sustainable way and also ensure it's sustainable for the economic trade.”
Dr Trevor Keel, session chair and head of technology at the World Gold Council said: "AngloGold has shown what can be done if you involve all parties, and the results of the spraying programme to date bring to clarity the kind of impact this programme can have on a community.
"It shows that collaboration between companies and governments is critical in making a programme like this sustainable." And with the programme expected to have reached 4.6 million people and generated around 3,500 jobs in Ghana by December 2015, the hope is this is one good news story that will keep on growing in importance.
About AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company and the world’s third largest gold producer. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti has 20 operations on four continents and one of the gold industry’s most successful exploration teams which work across both the established and new gold producing regions of the world. This includes land positions in Colombia, Guinea and Australia, among others. AngloGold Ashanti employed 61,242 people, including contractors, in 2011 and produced 4.33Moz of gold, generating $6.6bn in gold income. Capital expenditure in 2011 amounted to $1.5bn. As at 31 December 2011, AngloGold Ashanti’s Ore Reserve totalled 75.6Moz.
The primary listing of the company’s ordinary shares is on the JSE Limited (JSE). Its ordinary shares are also listed on stock exchanges in London and Ghana, as well as being quoted in New York in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs), in Australia, in the form of CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) and in Ghana, in the form of Ghanaian Depositary Shares (GhDSs)
Media Contact:
John Owusu Tel: +233 244 322 026 E-mail: john.owusu@AngloGoldAshanti.com
ENDS
Certain statements made in this communication, other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those concerning the economic outlook for the gold mining industry, expectations regarding gold prices, production, cash costs and other operating results, return on shareholders’ equity, productivity improvements, growth prospects and outlook of AngloGold Ashanti’s operations, individually or in the aggregate, including the achievement of project milestones, the completion and commencement of commercial operations of certain of AngloGold Ashanti’s exploration and production projects and the completion of acquisitions and dispositions, AngloGold Ashanti’s liquidity and capital resources and capital expenditures and the outcome and consequence of any potential or pending litigation or regulatory proceedings or environmental issues, are forward-looking statements or forecasts regarding AngloGold Ashanti’s operations, economic performance and financial condition. These forward-looking statements or forecasts involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause AngloGold Ashanti’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Although AngloGold Ashanti believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and forecasts are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, results could differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors, changes in economic, social, political and market conditions, success of business and operating initiatives, changes in the regulatory environment and other government actions including environmental approvals, fluctuations in gold prices and exchange rates, and business and operational risk management. For a discussion of certain of these and other factors, refer to AngloGold Ashanti's annual report for the year ended 31 December 2011, which was distributed to shareholders on 4 April 2012, the company’s 2011 annual report on Form 20-F, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States on 23 April 2012 and the prospectus supplement to the company’s prospectus dated 17 July 2012 that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 25 July 2012. These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause AngloGold Ashanti’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could also have material adverse effects on future results. Consequently, stakeholders are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. AngloGold Ashanti undertakes no obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after today’s date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except to the extent required by applicable law. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to AngloGold Ashanti or any person acting on its behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements herein.
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