Letter from the CEO

On behalf of all of my colleagues at AngloGold Ashanti I am very pleased to introduce to you our Report to Society 2008. This milestone report details the challenges that we face and the opportunities we believe we can build on to improve our operations and the way we interact with and in the communities in which we operate.

We define the sustainability disciplines as health and safety, labour, ethics and governance, human rights, the environment, the regional health issues of malaria and HIV & AIDS and certain other economic activities. In each area of reporting, we present a view of how we have delivered against the objectives we set in the previous report, how the issue is managed at the corporate and operational level, as well as the performance for the year and our objectives for the following year.

TIMES OF FINANCIAL TURMOIL

In these times of international financial turmoil, the question is increasingly being asked whether the commitment of businesses to operate in a socially and environmentally responsible way is going to be undermined, or at least slowed in terms of application, until economic conditions are more favourable.

This may appear to be an obvious question if the question is approached from the perspective that corporate social responsibility is an additional cost. Certainly, some activity is a consequence of the increasing scrutiny business has been subjected to over the recent past by governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), shareholders and other stakeholders.

At AngloGold Ashanti it is our firm view that if we cannot operate responsibly, we should not be in business. And it is on this basis that we will measure our success. Our experience continues to convince us that social and environmental responsibility is a necessary condition for ensuring productive operations. We believe safety, treating people with dignity and respect, acting responsibly within the environment and looking to create value for the communities in which we operate represent values that determine how we do business. These elements define who we are and how we do business. As we work today, every step we take is a step towards improving and making sure we are true to our values.

ACHIEVING ‘NO HARM’

There is no clearer example of the need to create a new reality for our employees than in the area of safety. The loss of one life represents a tragedy for family, friends and colleagues. At the same time the negative impact on the business is material, through loss of physical production, the impact on workforce morale and the loss of confidence in the systems we have created to keep people safe. Safety is about people and it is about good business.

It is with deep regret that I report the death of 14 of our colleagues during the course of 2008. The AngloGold Ashanti board extends its deepest sympathies to the families, friends and colleagues of those we have lost.

While the measurement of human tragedy is beyond all of our understanding, we are gratified by the work that has been undertaken in the business to improve our safety record – a more than 57% reduction in fatalities compared to 2007. The improvement in our all-accident frequency rate is also very pleasing, reducing 20% through the course of 2008. However, we continue to check ourselves as we again commit to relentlessly pursuing our objective of eliminating all accidents and health impacts from the workplace.

In this report we have shared in some detail the efforts we have made to achieve our vision of ‘no harm’. Our four-part strategy involves focusing on safety so that it is emphasised to every employee, every day, and that this perspective shapes every conversation we have and every decision we make. We are learning to be vigilant in recognising hazards and taking the time to understand what it takes to reduce the risk to a level that can be managed. A central feature of this is the campaign is to ensure that everyone understands that it is OK to stop work if they believe an area is unsafe. We are putting in place and managing to a set of systems that bind and link our activities to ensure safe outcomes. As leaders, every step and decision we take must be consistent with our safety message. Not only must we talk to change; we must also be the change.

On the health front we continue to be proud of the efforts of our operating and medical staff, primarily in the developing world, in respect of their work on malaria and HIV & AIDS. Again, the same themes apply; living and working in a manner consistent with our values will help create a healthier workforce and community environment – which means positive relationships and a more productive workplace.

AngloGold Ashanti takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. As the world debates the issues around climate change, we have decided to go forward and aggressively work on our understanding of our carbon footprint and to determine what steps we need to take to be a leader in our industry. We see benefits from all perspectives. At an employee level we can reduce emissions that make work uncomfortable in certain areas of operation. As shareholders a reduction in power consumption per unit of product improves our operating costs so that we can deliver sustainable profitable performance. In this context we are carefully evaluating the potential impacts of climate change on our business and our local communities and also working toward contributing to the business voice in the process leading up to the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.

OTHER CHALLENGES

Of course, this is not to say that all the challenges we face are easily or simply resolved. The period of the resources boom saw increasing scrutiny by the people and governments of developing countries on the question of whether the benefits of mining are fairly shared between the mining companies, the local economy and society. In our view, there are no simple answers. Mutually satisfactory solutions lie in a delicate balance between the parties’ respective interests, which converge and diverge through the fullness of time and circumstance. We elaborate on these perspectives in this report, and remain ready and willing to engage with interested social partners. In all cases we must be ready to engage, to be sensitive to other perspectives and to be flexible in finding sustainable economic and social solutions.

We have been transparent in our reporting and sincere in our belief that we can do better. We recognise that not all issues can be solved within a short period of time – we are committed to resolving issues with our partners as quickly as we both can manage. We face significant challenges on environmental management in some jurisdictions, and in respect of dust management at our deep level South African operations. However, we are working the problems and we are committed to finding solutions that work for our partners.

In all these areas and more, we recognise our responsibilities and will continue to work towards closing the gap between where we stand today and where we know we have to go. Our mission, vision and values, whose renewal you will read about in this report, are not merely words; they are the basis against which we measure our own performance, and we invite you to do the same. We will continue reporting to you regularly to assist you in making these assessments.

REPORTING FORMAT

This report has been produced in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G3 guidelines and has been independently assured by external auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers. As is required by GRI, we have self-declared an A+ level of reporting, having covered all of the issues required for this level, and having had the appropriate degree of third party assurance In addition, we have reported on our compliance with the principles of the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM), the UN Global Compact, the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights and Security and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), all of which are voluntary bodies to which we are affiliated or of which we are formal supporters. A schedule of our reporting against GRI, the ICMM principles and the UN Global Compact is available in this report.

This report cannot be a comprehensive account of all of our issues and performance at all of our operations and should be read in conjunction with the country and operational reports which provide a more detailed account of local performance, as well as the Annual Financial Statements and the other components in our suite of year-end reporting, to be found at www.aga-reports.com.

Mark Cutifani
Chief Executive Officer
7 March 2009