African Mining January 2022 | Page 13

PROJECTS AND EXPLORATION •

A daily record copper recovery of 88.3 % was achieved on September 12th and a daily floated copper production of 721 tonnes was achieved on September 15th . Subsequent to the reporting period , a daily milling record of 12,596 tonnes and a daily crushing record of 14,778 tonnes were achieved on September 27th . extensive use of technology , including Cavity Monitoring Systems and Cavity Auto Laser System , augmented with visual inspections to confirm the position and status of backfill in previously mined areas . The new paste-fill plant has been commissioned and its reticulation system is now complete .

These protocols , which have been integrated into the Mine Operating System , will be bolstered by scheduled audits to ensure the accuracy and diligence in probe drilling , and the intended implementation of the revised plan . AMC will continue its review of future mining areas .

During the review period , underground development and work related to the Obuasi Redevelopment Project continued to progress , with Phase 2 construction substantially complete at the end of June 2021 .

Chart 1 : Cumulative tonnes of copper produced May 2021 to September 20 , 2021 . The August total has been adjusted to reflect cumulative copper produced to August 20 , 2021 ( the new monthly reporting cut-off date ).

Phase 3 of the project , which relates principally to extended capital expenditure to refurbish existing infrastructure around the KMS Shaft , as well as to service the mine in deeper production areas , has progressed during this period and will continue as planned through to the end of 2023 .

• Location : Ghana

• Phase : Production

• Resource : Gold

Underground ore mining at AngloGold Ashanti ’ s Obuasi Gold Mine in Ghana resumed in mid-October last year .

For the remainder of 2021 , underground ore was only used to replenish the Run-of-Mine stockpile . Gold production from underground ore sources is therefore expected to re-commence in January 2022 . The safe ramp up to the full mining rate of 4,000 tons per day is expected to be achieved by the end of the first half of the 2022 .

Underground mining activities at Obuasi were voluntarily suspended following a sill pillar failure on 18 May 2021 which resulted in the tragic loss of one mine worker . A detailed review of the mining and ground management plans has been conducted by a cross-functional internal team and supported by independent third-party , Australian Mining Consultants ( AMC ).

Following this review , a comprehensive series of protocols have been introduced to supplement existing operating procedures . The full suite of procedures ahead of the mining front now include the existing systematic probe drilling procedure ,

AngloGold Ashanti ’ s annual revised guidance in 2021 remained unchanged and assumed no gold production contribution from Obuasi for the remainder of 2021 . It is estimated that the supplementary operating procedures introduced following the review will add about USD10 to USD20 per tonne to the mine ’ s operating costs , or about USD50 / oz . There is no material change to the mine plan or to Obuasi ’ s published Ore Reserve and Mineral Resources .

Obuasi Gold Mine is one of the world ’ s largest gold ore bodies , with 29.5Moz of Mineral Resource , at an average grade of 7.64 grams per tonne and 8.7Moz of Ore Reserve at an average grade of 8.6 grams per tonne .

Obuasi , an underground operation , mining to a depth of 1,500m , is in the Ashanti region , approximately 60km south of Kumasi . The mine currently employs 850 staff and 3,360 contractors , with about 97.5 % of all positions filled by Ghanaians .

Obuasi was in limited operations in 2015 , and on care and maintenance from 2016 to the start of its redevelopment in mid- 2018 , following the receipt of the requisite approvals from the Government of Ghana . The first face blast took place in February 2019 with first gold poured in December 2019 .

Phase 1 of the redevelopment project was completed by end September 2020 and began commercial production on 1 October 2020 . Phase 2 , construction , and mine development was substantially completed at the end of June .•

Obuasi Gold Mine is one of the world ’ s largest gold ore bodies .