AngloGold Ashanti deal talks stall

HARMONY Gold’s long-running talks to buy AngloGold Ashanti’s South African assets have stalled, because of uncertainty over the new Mining Charter, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions, which started two years ago, recently hit a snag as the government and the mining industry wage a court fight over the Mining Charter, according to two people, who asked not to be identified because the proposed deal is not public. The assets could potentially be valued around $500 million (R6.61 billion) to $650m, said another person. An alternative option being considered is a partial sale, with Harmony buying AngloGold’s Vaal River operations for about $150m, the person said. When asked about the deal, a spokesperson from Harmony called it “pure speculation” and declined to comment further. An AngloGold spokesperson also declined to comment. Harmony mainly operates end-of-life mines in South Africa and has spoken often about needing acquisitions to boost declining reserves. Some of its existing mines were previously owned by AngloGold. With the Harmony deal uncertain, AngloGold has started restructuring the mines to stem cash losses. In June, the company said 8 500 jobs, about a third of the total, were at risk. – Bloomberg