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At 31 December 2024
Coordinates: Lat 24.572753°, Long 34.414788°
Guidance Note
Refer to our guidance note.
Description and Lifecycle Design
Sukari Gold Mine is located approximately 660km southeast of Cairo in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, about 22km southwest of the town of Marsa Alam
TSF 1 is formed by downstream constructed, zoned earth-fill embankments on the North and East sides of the facility, with the West and South sides abutting natural topography. The TSF 1 basin area is lined with a single layer HDPE liner of 1.5mm thick and has a drainage network located on top of the HDPE liner, which flows by gravity to a drainage sump and an inclined extraction riser pipe at the northern embankment. The TSF 1 engineered embankment comprises a series of downstream raises consisting of waste rock fill, wadi gravels and a sand and gypsum blended soil liner. The HDPE liner is bedded on a layer of blended sand and gypsum. Full deposition ceased on TSF 1 in November 2021 with the remaining capacity being utilised for emergency deposition during the utilisation of Booster Station 1. As TSF 1 is not subject to scheduled deposition, an operational pond is seldom present; however, when ponding does occur, it is located in the northwest corner of the facility
AngloGold Ashanti has an internal corporate tailings management team and has appointed an internal Responsible Tailings Facility Engineer (RTFE), an external Engineer of Record (EoR) and a Senior Independent Technical Reviewer (SITR) at this facility to oversee and govern the design, construction, operations, maintenance and surveillance (OMS) of the facility.
Sukari TSF1 General Information
| Facility Name | Sukari TSF 1 |
| Period of Operation | 2009 – 2021 |
| Construction Method | 2007 – 2018 Staged Downstream zoned earth fill embankment sourcing material from the open pit 2019 – Flattening of the Downstream Slope utilising fresh material from the open pit |
| Deposition Method | Single footprint with rotational sub-aerial spigot deposition. |
| Target Annual Production Rate | NA – maintained for ‘emergency’ deposition |
| Current Tailings Volume / Tonnage | 107.9 Mt |
| Designed / Licensed Volume / Tonnage | 109 Mt |
| Estimated End-of-life | 2021 as an operational facility 2036 as an ‘emergency’ deposition facility |
| Current Crest Elevation | 1119.0 RL at the lowest point on the North Wall |
| Final designed/licensed crest elevation | 1122 m |
| Current Maximum Embankment Height | ~60m |
| Outer Wall Profile | 1V:3H |
Consequence Classification
| TSF Classification | Very High |
Risk Assessment
AngloGold Ashanti’s comprehensive risk management plan aims to implement designs and controls in a way that eliminates risks, and where any risks remain, these are mitigated so that the residual risk is As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP).
Risks are considered in the design stages with mitigation measures incorporated into the design features and operational procedures. Risks are also identified and mitigated through numerous layers of reviews and inspections, with follow-up actions and recommendations developed to mitigate identified risks. The Sukari potential failure modes assessment has been completed together with the failure modes and effects assessment. The assessment was conducted with a multi-disciplinary team including independent subject matter experts, independent facilitators, the site team and the EoR, in line with accepted best practices.
Impact Assessment
The impact of a potential flow failure has been assessed considering the impact to human health and life, the environment, social and cultural impacts, as well as the infrastructure and economic impacts. These potential impacts have been used to inform the TSF Classification, as well as the risk assessment consequence definition, along with the mitigation measures to be implemented.
Modelling of a potential failure indicates that the areas north, northeast and east of TSF 1 could be affected, potentially impacting site infrastructure, human settlements, farming, and water resources.
Performance Reviews
AngloGold Ashanti has a comprehensive Tailings Review System which incorporates reviews from multiple levels and internal and external parties. All Sukari TSFs are subject to the following reviews:
- RTFE Performance Reviews – typically quarterly
- EoR Inspections – Quarterly and Annual Performance Reviews
- AngloGold Ashanti Corporate Review – Annually
- Senior Independent Technical Reviewer Inspection – Annually
- Dam Safety Review (DSR) – Typically every five years
| Reviews | Most Recent Review | Next Planned Review |
|---|---|---|
| EoR | June 2025 | September 2025 |
| SITR | March 2025 | Q1 2026 |
| DSR | Q4 2021 | 2027 |
AngloGold Ashanti has adopted the following ranking system for independent reviews: Priority 1 actions are classified as a material finding.
Priority 1 – A dam safety issue considered immediately dangerous to life, health or the environment, or at significant risk of regulatory enforcement.
Priority 2 – If not corrected, a concern that could result in a dam safety issue leading to injury, health impact or discontinuity of operations.
Priority 3 – Single occurrence of deficiency or non-conformance that alone would not be expected to result in dam safety issues, discontinuity of operations or regulatory intervention.
Priority 4 – A recommendation based on good practice, improvement, or risk reduction.
No material findings have been identified for the TSF.
Environmental and Social
Environment and Social monitoring programmes form part of AngloGold Ashanti’s Health, Safety, Environment (ISO14001) and Social Communities (HSEC) management systems, which act to fulfil the environmental social management system requirements under the GISTM. These environmental and social monitoring programmes are comprehensively reviewed, and mitigation measures are implemented as needed. Further information on our environmental and social monitoring programmes, and performance results can be found in AngloGold Ashanti’s Sustainability Reports.
There is potential for groundwater seepage from the TSF, potentially due to a compromised HDPE Liner; however, groundwater conditions around all our TSFs are regularly monitored. Where groundwater impact plumes exist, their migration is modelled and managed, as necessary, to avoid interaction(s) with potential receptors.
No material findings were made in relation to the TSF.
Emergency Response and Preparedness
The mine has a dedicated Emergency Response Team and Emergency Management Plan (EMP). The EMP identifies potential events and incidents, defines those personnel responsible for implementation of the response, and describes procedures for notification, communication and escalation of the emergency response. Due to the remote location of the site, the site emergency response team plan all initial responses without additional support from external or public agencies.
The TSF’s emergency preparedness and response planning is a dedicated plan that is to be appended to the site wide EMP and the facility operation, maintenance and surveillance manual.
Financial Capacity
AngloGold Ashanti confirms it has adequate financial capacity to cover the agreed share of estimated costs of planned closure, early closure, reclamation, and post-closure monitoring and maintenance of the TSF and its appurtenant structures.
Guidance Note
Certain statements contained in this document, other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those concerning the economic outlook for the gold mining industry, expectations regarding gold prices, production, total cash costs, all-in sustaining costs, cost savings and other operating results, return on equity, productivity improvements, growth prospects and outlook of AngloGold Ashanti’s operations, individually or in the aggregate, including the achievement of project milestones, commencement and completion of commercial operations of certain of AngloGold Ashanti’s exploration and production projects and the completion of acquisitions, dispositions or joint venture transactions, AngloGold Ashanti’s liquidity and capital resources and capital expenditures, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the outcome and consequences of any potential or pending litigation or regulatory proceedings or environmental, health and safety issues, are forward-looking statements regarding AngloGold Ashanti’s financial reports, operations, economic performance and financial condition.
These forward-looking statements or forecasts are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current beliefs and expectations concerning future events and generally may be identified by the use of forward-looking words, phrases and expressions such as “believe”, “expect”, “aim”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “foresee”, “forecast”, “predict”, “project”, “estimate”, “likely”, “may”, “might”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “seek”, “plan”, “scheduled”, “possible”, “continue”, “potential”, “outlook”, “target” or other similar words, phrases, and expressions; provided that the absence thereof does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals are or may be forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements or forecasts involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause AngloGold Ashanti’s actual results, performance, actions or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, actions or achievements expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Although AngloGold Ashanti believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and forecasts are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct.
Accordingly, results, performance, actions or achievements could differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors, changes in economic, social, political and market conditions, including related to inflation or international conflicts, the success of business and operating initiatives, changes in the regulatory environment and other government actions, including environmental approvals, fluctuations in gold prices and exchange rates, the outcome of pending or future litigation proceedings, any supply chain disruptions, any public health crises, pandemics or epidemics (including the COVID-19 pandemic), the failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or effective disclosure controls and procedures, the inability to remediate one or more material weaknesses, or the discovery of additional material weaknesses, in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, and other business and operational risks and challenges and other factors, including mining accidents.
For a discussion of such risk factors, refer to AngloGold Ashanti’s annual report on Form 20-F for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause AngloGold Ashanti’s actual results, performance, actions or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could also have material adverse effects on AngloGold Ashanti’s future results, performance, actions or achievements. Consequently, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
AngloGold Ashanti undertakes no obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except to the extent required by applicable law. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to AngloGold Ashanti or any person acting on its behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements herein.