AngloGold Ashanti’s Annual Output Up for First Time Since 2005

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE:AU) announced on Wednesday its results for the fourth quarter of 2013, as well as for the year as a whole, commenting that its production came to 4.105 million ounces. That’s up from 3.944 million ounces in 2012 and the first time since 2005 that the company has seen a yearly production increase.

Other highlights include:

All-in sustaining costs (AISC) for the year were $1,174/oz, down from $1,251/oz the previous year. By the fourth quarter, AISC had fallen sharply to $1,015/oz as cost saving, efficiency improvements and capital reductions bear fruit.

Tropicana and Kibali, both commissioned ahead of time and on budget in September, delivered 106,000oz of attributable production in the fourth quarter, at an average cash cost of $532/oz. This provides the flexibility to further rationalise marginal production while the group continues to focus on overhead and operating costs.

S. Venkatakrishnan, AngloGold’s CEO, commented:

Thanks to our investment made in prior years, we are starting to reverse nearly a decade of shrinking production. This gives us the flexibility to remove marginal production without compromising our base, which sets us apart in a sector that generally continues to shrink.

Click here to read the full AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE:AU) press release.