By David
Mackay, JOHANNESBURG South Africa
South
Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti has
ended its 10-month search for a permanent CEO, appointing today the former BHP
executive, Alberto Calderon.
Alberto Calderon, CEO, AngloGold Ashanti
Calderon
will take up his post on September 1 when interim CEO, Christine Ramon will
revert to her former role of CFO.
A graduate
of Yale University, Calderon held a range of senior positions at BHP including
chief commercial officer between 2007 and 2011.
“AngloGold
Ashanti brings together a high-quality portfolio and a strong commitment to
deliver social, environmental and shareholder value that I relate to strongly
on a personal level,” said Calderon in a statement.
Former CEO
Kelvin Dushnisky announced his resignation in August and left the three million
ounce a year company in September. Ramon acknowledged in May that the
vacancy created uncertainty in the market about the company’s strategic
direction.
Until
March this year, Calderon was CEO of Orica described by AngloGold as the
world’s number one commercial explosives maker.
At BHP,
Calderon was CEO of its Aluminium division as well as head of its Nickel and
Corporate Development. He was also CEO of Cerrejón, Colombia’s largest mining
operation, and one of the largest coal mining operations in the world.
Calderon
(61) is Colombian by birth. He is currently based in Australia.
“I am
delighted to welcome Alberto as CEO of AngloGold Ashanti following a
comprehensive global search in which we considered several excellent
candidates,” said Maria Ramos, chairwoman of AngloGold. Ramos thanked Ramon for
her “… tireless commitment through a particularly tumultuous period globally”.
Other
roles held by Calderon include “leadership positions” at the International
Monetary Fund and the Colombian government.
The latter
will be potentially helpful as AngloGold spearheads growth through three
prospects there: Gramalote, Quebradona and La Colosa totalling 38.5 million oz
in mineral resource as well as copper by-products.
The
company sold the last of its South African assets – Mponeng and Mine Waste
Solutions – to Harmony Gold for $300m in September 2020. The move was thought
to be a prelude to a primary offshore listing, most likely the London Stock
Exchange.
However,
Dushnisky’s resignation put the brakes on major strategic developments.
The
departure of Dushnisky, coupled with the relative under-performance of
AngloGold shares for most of 2020 also led to speculation that the company was
vulnerable to a takeover by Sibanye-Stillwater whose CEO Neal Froneman publicly
stated his interest in creating a ‘South African champion’ by
merging with AngloGold and Gold Fields.
In the
short-term, Calderon may have some operational pressures with which to deal as
AngloGold started the 2021 financial year stickily.
First
quarter production of 588,000 oz was down on the 630,000 oz produced a year
earlier. AISC increased 26% to $1,287/oz.
The
company also said in May that it had stopped mining at its Ghana mine Obuasi
whilst it conducted a study following a fatal accident. The mine’s 300,000
to 350,000 ounce production guidance was suspended by total group guidance
of between 2.7 million and 2.9 million oz was retained.
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