Latest news with #AngloGoldAshanti
Al-Ahram Weekly
5 days ago
- Business
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Unleashing mining potential - Economy - Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt's mining sector has recently been in the limelight with a set of new exploration agreements and production increases, not only for gold, which is the most actively looked for mineral, but also phosphates and iron and other lesser-known minerals to the public like white sand. The Egypt Mining Forum 2025, which took place last week, saw agreements finalised for more gold exploration with AngloGold Ashanti, which bought Centamin and is now the operator of the Sukari Gold Mine, as well as Canada's Barrick Mining Corporation. 'Egypt is open to all forms of investment, with a particular focus on empowering Egyptian, regional, and international investors, and we stand ready to allocate additional areas for exploration and prospecting across all mineral types, reaffirming our unwavering commitment to expanding growth opportunities within the mining sector,' Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi said. A $658 million phosphoric acid complex is currently under construction in the New Valley governorate due to a contract between a consortium of Egyptian companies and two Chinese entities. Phosphoric acid is used in many industries, the most important of which is fertilisers. The complex has an estimated production capacity of 900,000 tons annually. 'This clearly demonstrates the strong desire of international companies to expand their investments in the Egyptian mining sector, which serves as proof of major international companies' confidence in Egypt's investment climate, reflecting the success of the state's policy in attracting foreign investments,' Badawi said. Egypt recorded $446 million in revenues from mineral wealth development in the 2025 year to date, marking a 131 per cent increase compared to the previous year, Badawi told the forum attendees. The increased interest follows government efforts to streamline the sector by amending the mining law and introducing investment-friendly changes in the formula of sharing costs and profits with explorers. The most recent move was parliament's approval of a bill changing the status of the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) to that of an economic authority with its own independent budget. The draft law establishes a regulatory framework modeled after the structure of Egypt's General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), with the goal of simplifying procedures and improving flexibility so that mineral resources can be developed more efficiently and competitively. 'The swift alignment of the mining legislation with international best practice demonstrates unprecedented institutional collaboration. The unified commitment across Government, Parliament, and industry to defined timelines has enabled us to enact critical reforms that will drive sustainable growth in Egypt's mining sector,' said Hoda Mansour, Managing Director and Vice Chair of Sukari Gold Mines, representing AngloGold Ashanti during the forum. MP Mohamed Ismail, who submitted the demand to change the EMRA to an independent economic entity, noted that as a public service authority it is under fragmented oversight, reporting financially to the ministries of planning and finance and technically to the Ministry of Petroleum. This administrative and organisational distortion, he told the House of Representatives, has constrained the authority's performance and led to the mining sector contributing less than one per cent to the country's GDP. EMRA, now known as the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority, will keep 65 per cent of its annual profits and transfer the remaining 35 per cent to the state treasury. Ismail expected the change to mark a turning point for the industry and to increase government revenues from LE2 billion to LE12 billion annually within seven years, raise the sector's GDP share to six per cent in five years, and boost exports from $1.5 billion to $7 billion within a decade. A closer look at the sector reveals that gold still attracts the lion's share of investment. A Fitch Solutions report issued early last year pointed out that in March 2021, the former minister of petroleum and mineral resources, Tarek Al-Molla, had announced that Egypt aimed to become a world-class mining hub, raising its mining exports to $10 billion by 2040, up from $1.6 in 2021. 'While we do not expect export growth to be as strong as these aims, gold production and exports have strong potential. The government is liberalising the gold sector in an attempt to encourage foreign investment, and we expect gold prices to remain high in the coming five years, which will encourage exploration and mine development,' the report noted. According to a government document cited by the news outlet Al-Arabiya, Egypt's gold sector has witnessed remarkable growth, with gold and precious stone exports surging by 74 per cent to reach $2.85 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, up from $1.64 billion during the same period in 2023. While steel makes a lot of news locally owing to the effect of price changes on the construction sector, little attention is given to the volume of production. Egypt, states the Fitch report, is emerging to be Africa's largest steel producer and second-largest producer in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after Iran. Egypt's steel production continued to grow consistently throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, whereas most other countries experienced at least temporary contractions. Crude steel output reached 9.8 million tons in 2022, the second-largest in MENA after Iran. 'We forecast average annual growth of 1.5 per cent over the next decade as the government supports the industry to reduce reliance on imported steel,' Fitch said. During the period between 2019 and 2024, phosphate production saw the highest rate of growth, according to a report prepared by the Egypt Oil and Gas Group, with an annual average of eight million metric tons (mmt) compared to 3.92 mmt in 2019-2020. This reflects intensified mining activity, strategic investment, and strong export demand supporting Egypt's phosphate industry, it said. The Abu Tartur Plateau in the Western Desert is one of the largest and most promising deposits of phosphates, known for high-grade ore and substantial reserves. A detailed study titled 'Phosphate Mining in Egypt: Geology and Sustainable Development' by Mahmoud Zanaty, a geologist at US firm Haliburton, confirms that Egypt possesses four per cent of global phosphate deposits, totalling 2.78 billion tons, and produces six million tons annually, which accounts for three per cent of global output. Phosphates have diverse applications across several industries, creating vast investment opportunities. Industry observers say that in the light of the projected 25 per cent expansion in cultivated land over the next six years, there will be a higher demand for phosphate-based agricultural products, resulting in a vast domestic market. However, high production costs, especially in the Abu Tartour Plateau, which contains approximately one billion metric tons of reserves but with high impurities, represent a challenge for the sector. There is also fierce competition, especially from neighbouring African and Arab countries, such as Morocco, which has the world's largest phosphate reserves, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Other minerals highlighted by Egypt's Oil and Gas report showed declining or inconsistent trajectories during the five-year period. Iron production, which averaged 0.05 mmt, dropped sharply by 84 per cent and ceased entirely after 2020-21. 'Egypt's iron production declined sharply due to outdated machinery, heavy financial losses exceeding LE9 billion, inconsistent energy and raw material supplies, and a government decision to liquidate the Egyptian Iron and Steel Company,' the Fitch report said. * A version of this article appears in print in the 24 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
New Ghana mining laws to shorten licence periods, boost community investment
Ghana plans to shorten mining licence durations and mandate direct revenue-sharing with local communities in its most sweeping mining law reforms in nearly two decades, details of which were announced by a government minister on Wednesday. The planned overhaul reflects a broader trend across West Africa, where governments are rewriting mining codes to capture more value from rising commodity prices. Ghanaian lands and natural resources minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah said the changes, which include scrapping automatic renewal of some licences, will apply only to future contracts, a departure from the stance in Mali and Burkina Faso where military-led governments have applied reforms retroactively, 'In Ghana, we don't do retrospective laws,' Buah said at a presentation in the capital, Accra. 'Existing agreements are sanctified and will be respected.' He added that the overhaul of the Minerals and Mining Act and mining policy was 85% complete following extensive stakeholder consultations. Ghana, Africa's top gold producer, expects output to rise to 5.1-million ounces this year. Major miners in the country include Newmont, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Zijin, Asante Gold, and Perseus. It also exports bauxite and manganese with plans to start lithium production.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Altius Completes Sale of 2/3 of its Silicon Gold 1.5% NSR to Franco-Nevada
Altius Retains 0.5% NSR interest as Long-Term Portfolio Component ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador, July 23, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Altius Minerals Corporation (TSX: ALS) (OTCQX: ATUSF) Altius Minerals Corporation ("Altius") is pleased to announce that Altius Royalty Corporation ("ARC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Altius, has completed the sale of a 1% NSR royalty covering the Silicon and Merlin gold deposit discoveries in Nevada ("1% NSR Silicon Royalty") to a wholly owned subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation ("Franco-Nevada") (TSX & NYSE: FNV) ("The Transaction"), pursuant to a royalty purchase agreement entered into by ARC and Franco-Nevada (the "Agreement"). ARC will continue to hold a remaining 0.5% NSR royalty interest in Silicon (recently renamed to the Arthur Gold Project by AngloGold Ashanti plc ("AGA") as a long-term component of its diversified portfolio. The purchase price for the 1% NSR Silicon Royalty interest is US$ 275 million (~ C$ 375 million) comprised of US$ 250 million in upfront cash paid at closing and a further payment of US $25 million in cash payable upon the conclusion of an ongoing arbitration process that confirms the area subject to the royalty under final award to be consistent with Altius's interpretation of the partial award of the arbitration tribunal that was issued and reported on earlier this year. The Board of Directors of Altius has received a fairness opinion from Cormark Securities Inc. which opinion concluded that, based upon and subject to the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered, limitations and qualifications set out therein, the consideration to be received by ARC pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to ARC. Brian Dalton, CEO of Altius commented, "We are pleased to partner with Franco-Nevada on this royalty, which encompasses AGA's world-class Silicon and Merlin gold deposit discoveries in Nevada, as well as extensive areas of prospective surrounding land. The Transaction crystallizes significant value for shareholders while further demonstrating the ability of Altius's Project Generation business to amplify the return profile of its overall royalty investment portfolio. The decision to retain a third of our Silicon royalty interest also provides continuing growth exposure to this emerging gold district, while confirming the addition of precious metals as a long-term, well-balanced component of our shareholder's diversified royalty portfolio. We now look forward to the ability to explore a wider set of capital allocation and deployment opportunities, facilitated by a considerably strengthened balance sheet and liquidity profile, and to further growing shareholder value." Anticipated Benefits to Altius Shareholders Capital Allocation Opportunities Cash, after taxes and fees, expected to increase to more than C$ 360 million (assumes up front and further payment proceeds from this Transaction and also from the recent acquisition of Orogen Royalties Inc. by Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp.) Total liquidity increased to more than C$ 540 million (including C$ 116 million available under a revolving credit facility and C$ 62.5 million potentially available under an accordion feature) Creates enhanced flexibility to evaluate external M&A opportunities while limiting equity level dilution of existing assets and the embedded growth potential of our portfolio Improves ability to opportunistically increase per share exposure to existing royalty interests through share repurchases Retained Royalty Exposure Continuing optionality exposure to gold resource growth1 from current ~16 Moz resource estimate at the Arthur Gold Project, as AGA continues aggressive exploration and delineation drilling programs and the reporting of encouraging results Achieves rebalance of commodity exposures while confirming precious metals and another tier-1 quality royalty as components of Altius's long-term, diversified portfolio. For further information, please see the updated Altius corporate presentation posted to the website at 1 See Expanded Silicon Project Update presentation Financial and Legal Advisors Cormark Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Altius. Stikeman Elliott LLP is acting as legal counsel to Altius and ARC. About Altius Altius's strategy is to create per share growth through a diversified portfolio of royalty assets that relate to long life, high margin operations. This strategy further provides shareholders with exposures that are well aligned with global growth trends including increasing electricity based market share within energy usage, global infrastructure build and refurbishment growth, increased EAF based steelmaking, steadily increasing agricultural fertilizer requirements and the enhanced appetite for financial asset diversification through precious metals ownership. These macro-trends each hold the potential to cause higher demand for many of Altius's commodity exposures including potash, high purity iron ore, renewable energy, base metals, and gold . In addition, Altius runs a successful Project Generation business that originates mineral projects for sale to developers in exchange for royalties and that has a demonstrated track record of driving outsized direct returns from its overall royalty investment portfolio. Altius has 46,315,304 common shares issued and outstanding that are listed on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a member of both the S&P/TSX Small Cap and S&P/TSX Global Mining Indices and the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index. Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Altius provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. The information in this news release about the any anticipated benefits of the transaction to Altius Shareholders, timing and results of the ongoing arbitration process in respect of the Silicon royalty and possibility of ARC being paid contingent consideration of US$25 million following conclusion thereof, and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be forward looking information. In certain cases, forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although Altius believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Altius does not undertake to update any forward-looking information contained herein except in accordance with securities regulations. View source version on Contacts For further information, please contact:Flora WoodEmail: Fwood@ Tel: 1.877.576.2209Direct: 1.416.346.9020 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
National Post
7 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Altius Completes Sale of 2/3 of its Silicon Gold 1.5% NSR to Franco-Nevada
Article content ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador — Altius Minerals Corporation (TSX: ALS) (OTCQX: ATUSF) Altius Minerals Corporation ('Altius') is pleased to announce that Altius Royalty Corporation ('ARC'), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Altius, has completed the sale of a 1% NSR royalty covering the Silicon and Merlin gold deposit discoveries in Nevada ('1% NSR Silicon Royalty') to a wholly owned subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation ('Franco-Nevada') (TSX & NYSE: FNV) ('The Transaction'), pursuant to a royalty purchase agreement entered into by ARC and Franco-Nevada (the 'Agreement'). ARC will continue to hold a remaining 0.5% NSR royalty interest in Silicon (recently renamed to the Arthur Gold Project by AngloGold Ashanti plc ('AGA') as a long-term component of its diversified portfolio. Article content Article content The purchase price for the 1% NSR Silicon Royalty interest is US$ 275 million (~ C$ 375 million) comprised of US$ 250 million in upfront cash paid at closing and a further payment of US $25 million in cash payable upon the conclusion of an ongoing arbitration process that confirms the area subject to the royalty under final award to be consistent with Altius's interpretation of the partial award of the arbitration tribunal that was issued and reported on earlier this year. Article content The Board of Directors of Altius has received a fairness opinion from Cormark Securities Inc. which opinion concluded that, based upon and subject to the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered, limitations and qualifications set out therein, the consideration to be received by ARC pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view, to ARC. Article content Brian Dalton, CEO of Altius commented, 'We are pleased to partner with Franco-Nevada on this royalty, which encompasses AGA's world-class Silicon and Merlin gold deposit discoveries in Nevada, as well as extensive areas of prospective surrounding land. The Transaction crystallizes significant value for shareholders while further demonstrating the ability of Altius's Project Generation business to amplify the return profile of its overall royalty investment portfolio. The decision to retain a third of our Silicon royalty interest also provides continuing growth exposure to this emerging gold district, while confirming the addition of precious metals as a long-term, well-balanced component of our shareholder's diversified royalty portfolio. We now look forward to the ability to explore a wider set of capital allocation and deployment opportunities, facilitated by a considerably strengthened balance sheet and liquidity profile, and to further growing shareholder value.' Article content Anticipated Benefits to Altius Shareholders Article content Capital Allocation Opportunities Article content Cash, after taxes and fees, expected to increase to more than C$ 360 million (assumes up front and further payment proceeds from this Transaction and also from the recent acquisition of Orogen Royalties Inc. by Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp.) Total liquidity increased to more than C$ 540 million (including C$ 116 million available under a revolving credit facility and C$ 62.5 million potentially available under an accordion feature) Creates enhanced flexibility to evaluate external M&A opportunities while limiting equity level dilution of existing assets and the embedded growth potential of our portfolio Improves ability to opportunistically increase per share exposure to existing royalty interests through share repurchases Article content Retained Royalty Exposure Article content Continuing optionality exposure to gold resource growth 1 from current ~16 Moz resource estimate at the Arthur Gold Project, as AGA continues aggressive exploration and delineation drilling programs and the reporting of encouraging results Achieves rebalance of commodity exposures while confirming precious metals and another tier-1 quality royalty as components of Altius's long-term, diversified portfolio. Article content For further information, please see the updated Altius corporate presentation posted to the website at 1 See Expanded Silicon Project Update presentation Financial and Legal Advisors Cormark Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Altius. Stikeman Elliott LLP is acting as legal counsel to Altius and ARC. Article content About Altius Article content Altius's strategy is to create per share growth through a diversified portfolio of royalty assets that relate to long life, high margin operations. This strategy further provides shareholders with exposures that are well aligned with global growth trends including increasing electricity based market share within energy usage, global infrastructure build and refurbishment growth, increased EAF based steelmaking, steadily increasing agricultural fertilizer requirements and the enhanced appetite for financial asset diversification through precious metals ownership. These macro-trends each hold the potential to cause higher demand for many of Altius's commodity exposures including potash, high purity iron ore, renewable energy, base metals, and gold . In addition, Altius runs a successful Project Generation business that originates mineral projects for sale to developers in exchange for royalties and that has a demonstrated track record of driving outsized direct returns from its overall royalty investment portfolio. Altius has 46,315,304 common shares issued and outstanding that are listed on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a member of both the S&P/TSX Small Cap and S&P/TSX Global Mining Indices and the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index. Article content This news release contains forward-looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Altius provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. The information in this news release about the any anticipated benefits of the transaction to Altius Shareholders, timing and results of the ongoing arbitration process in respect of the Silicon royalty and possibility of ARC being paid contingent consideration of US$25 million following conclusion thereof, and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be forward looking information. In certain cases, forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as 'anticipates', 'believes', 'could', 'estimates', 'expects', 'may', 'shall', 'will', or 'would'. Although Altius believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Altius does not undertake to update any forward-looking information contained herein except in accordance with securities regulations. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For further information, please contact: Flora Wood Article content Email: Article content Article content Article content
Globe and Mail
23-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Can AngloGold Ashanti Maintain Its Strong Free Cash Flow Growth?
AngloGold Ashanti plc ( AU ) delivered an impressive seven-fold increase in free cash flow to $407 million in the first quarter of 2025. The jump in free cash flow was primarily attributed to higher gold prices, which added $544 million, while increased volumes accounted for a further $246 million. Gold production and sales from managed operations were bolstered by the first-time contribution from the recently acquired Sukari Gold Mine in Egypt and solid output improvements at both Siguiri and Tropicana. Net cash inflow from operating activities was $725 million in the quarter, marking a 188% increase year over year from $252 million. This strong performance was primarily driven by a on higher prices and sales volumes. However, some of these gains were offset by higher volume-related operating costs, reduced dividends from joint ventures and increased tax payments. After accounting for capital expenditure, loan repayments from Kibali and dividends paid to non-controlling shareholders, AngloGold Ashanti generated a free cash inflow of $403 million. The company closed the quarter with approximately $3.0 billion in liquidity, including $1.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Adjusted net debt fell 60% year over year to $525 million, with the adjusted net debt-to-EBITDA ratio improving to 0.15x from 0.86x. AngloGold Ashanti remains focused on maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet. In 2024, the company had also demonstrated strong performance with free cash flow reaching $942 million, up 764% from 2023, primarily due to favorable gold pricing. For 2025, AngloGold Ashanti projects gold production of 2.9-3.225 million ounces, indicating 9–21% growth over the prior year. Higher production, combined with the rally in gold prices this year as well as the company's efforts to lower costs, is expected to drive further gains in cash flow this year. Newmont Corporation NEM achieved a record first-quarter free cash flow of $1.2 billion, marking a significant turnaround from a negative $74 million in the same period a year ago. This substantial improvement came on the back of Newmont's enhanced operational efficiency and the strength of its Tier 1 portfolio. Strong free cash flow positions Newmont to strengthen its balance sheet and pursue strategic growth investments. Barrick Mining Corporation B reported a free cash flow of $375 million for the first quarter, a nearly 12-fold year-over-year rise. The surge reflects Barrick's higher operating cash flows driven by an uptick in realized gold and copper prices. Barrick reduced net debt by 5% during the quarter, leveraging healthy free cash flow generation. AU's Price Performance, Valuations & Estimates AngloGold Ashanti's stock has skyrocketed 125% year to date, outperforming the Zacks Mining – Gold industry's 54.2% growth. During this time, the Basic Materials sector has risen 13.6% and the S&P 500 has rallied 6.8%. AU is currently trading at a forward 12-month earnings multiple of 10.49X, a discount to the industry average of 12.46X. The stock has a Value Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AngloGold Ashanti's 2025 sales is $8.85 billion, indicating 52.8% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for the year's earnings is $4.99 per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 125.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 sales implies 2.3% year-over-year growth. The same for earnings indicates a decline of 1.3%. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been trending north over the past 60 days, as seen in the chart below. AU currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Newmont Corporation (NEM): Free Stock Analysis Report AngloGold Ashanti PLC (AU): Free Stock Analysis Report Barrick Mining Corporation (B): Free Stock Analysis Report
