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Obuasi, Ghana

Obuasi, an underground operation mining to a depth of 1,500m, is located in Ghana’s Ashanti region, approximately 60km south of Kumasi.

Ownership

100%
AngloGold Ashanti

Mineral Resource

Stacked rocks [icon]
24.5Moz
of gold

Gold production

Production [icon]
250koz

All-in sustaining costs

Costs [icon]
$1,264

Capital expenditure

Cashflow [icon]
$159m

Workforce

Water recycling [icon]
4,403
including contractors

Overview and locality

Obuasi is an underground operation with the main accesses into the mine consisting of shafts and a single access decline with interlevel development of between 15 and 30m. The Obuasi Deeps Decline, which is situated at the southern end of the mine, is designed to extend to a depth of about 1,500m. The Obuasi underground operation employs mostly the long hole open stoping (LHOS) mining method for ore extraction.

Existing infrastructure includes a 2.4Mtpa processing plant with flotation and bacterial oxidation (BIOX), underground development, hoisting shafts and associated infrastructure, power and water reticulation, office complexes, workshops and company housing estates. Power is supplied to the mine by the Volta River Authority and GridCo.

A brief history

  • Production at Obuasi started in 1897 and stopped in the last quarter of 2014. Some aspects of the mine continued under limited operational conditions, including the development of the underground decline.
  • A favourable feasibility study was completed in 2017 and indicated a strong technical and economical case with an anticipated 20-year LOM
  • In 2018, approval was received from the AngloGold Ashanti board to proceed with the project.
  • The redevelopment project began in late 2018 and first gold was poured during the fourth quarter of 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 completed in 2021.
  • Phase 3 of the redevelopment project is currently underway to develop the infrastructure necessary to support the planned ramp up in production to 5,000tpd by the end of 2023.
  • The operations' ramp up was delayed by the temporary stoppage of underground activities after a fall of ground incident in May 2021. Production remained suspended for several months to allow for reviews and investigations, but slowly resumed in the latter part of 2021.
Map of Ghana, location of Obuasi mine

ESG statistics 2022

Band-aid [icon]

Total recordable injuries frequency rate

0.71 per million hours worked

Caring [icon]

Community investment

$1.069m

Incident report [icon]

Reportable environmental incidents

1

Water recycling [icon]

Water use

2,198ML

Water recycling [icon]

Water use efficiency

1.79kL/t

Energy [icon]

Energy consumption

1.34PJ

Energy [icon]

Energy use intensity

1.09GJ/t

Wind [icon]

GHG emissions

140kt

Wind [icon]

GHG emission intensity

113kg/t CO2e

Rehabilitation [icon]

Rehabilitation liabilities

$171m

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Obuasi mine launched a ten-year socio-economic development plan (SEDP) which encapsulates a clear strategy to ensure Obuasi and its host communities reap sustained benefits.

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Anglogold Ashanti Ghana promotes health in the community

In 2021, AngloGold Ashanti held a health outreach day in the Binsere community near its Obuasi mine. The outreach day was a collaboration between AngloGold Ashanti, the AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation and the Obuasi Municipal District and the Obuasi East District Health Directorates.

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Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology opens an Obuasi campus

AngloGold Ashanti has helped to facilitate the development of a satellite Obuasi campus for Ghana’s renowned Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), which is headquartered in the city of Kumasi.

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Obuasi Mine’s Closure Consultative Committee

The key purpose of the Closure Consultative Committee (CCC) is to track the implementation of the mine’s reclamation plan, ensuring that the completion criteria contained in RSA are met.

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