AngloGold to Invest $400m in Columbia
AngloGold to invest $400m in Colombia 2013-15
By: Reuters
21st May 2012
CARTAGENA, Colombia – AngloGold Ashanti, the world's No. 3 gold producer, plans to invest $400-million in Colombia in the 2013-2015 period at its La Colosa deposit and other gold exploration projects, a company executive said on Friday. Some $300-million is earmarked for exploration work at La Colosa, Colombia's largest gold deposit, located in the southern Tolima province.
The remaining $100-million would be invested in exploration projects in the regions of Antioquia, Cauca, Bolivar and Caldas, AngloGold's CEO in Colombia, Rafael Herz, said during a mining conference in the port city of Cartagena.
Hertz said that geological work allowed the company to more than double inferred gold resources at La Colosa to 24-million ounces from initial estimates of 12.3-million ounces. "Mining resources in the area have been confirmed and are higher than (initially) established," he said.
AngloGold last year unveiled a plan to invest $310-million in Colombia between 2011 and 2013.
A local environmental agency refused to grant a water permit for La Colosa last year, arguing that there is not enough water for the project in the area. Herz said the lack of environmental and water permits have prevented AngloGold from finishing exploration work at La Colosa in 2012, as it had planned. The delay with the permits means Colosa may not start production until 2019, two years after initially planned.
The company estimates that la Colosa will produce between 600 000 oz and 800 000 oz of gold per year and that it will have a 20-year lifespan, Hertz said.
Colombia has seen a boom in foreign direct investment, mainly in oil and mining, over the last few years thanks to a US-backed military crackdown on illegal armed groups opening up many areas of the country to exploration.
However, mining and energy investors have run into issues over the past few years from licensing delays to environmental concerns and deadly accidents, forcing the government to overhaul the sectors including creating a new agency to oversee the mining industry.
Edited by: Reuters