JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA--(Marketwire - July 22, 2011) - AngloGold Ashanti Limited ("AngloGold Ashanti") (NYSE: ER name="AU">AUER>) has entered into an agreement to acquire ownership over the 47,065,916 shares in First Uranium Corporation ("First Uranium") held by Village Main Reef Limited ("Village"), which equates to a 19.79% interest in First Uranium, for CAD0.60 per share (ZAR4.3569 per share or USD0.64 per share) representing aggregate consideration of approximately CAD28 million (ZAR205 million or USD30 million) the rand equivalent of which is payable in cash by AngloGold Ashanti to Village. Prior to this acquisition AngloGold Ashanti held no interest in First Uranium.
The acquisition was effected by AngloGold Ashanti for investment purposes. This investment will be reviewed from time to time by AngloGold Ashanti. Depending on various factors, including the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, AngloGold Ashanti may in the future take such actions with respect to its investment in First Uranium as it deems appropriate including, without limitation, acquiring additional securities of First Uranium, selling or otherwise disposing of some or all of its securities of First Uranium or changing its intention with respect to any and all matters referred to above.
Furthermore, Village has granted lock-up rights and rights of first refusal to AngloGold Ashanti for its remaining approximately 5.7% stake in First Uranium and its holding of approximately ZAR392.8 million convertible notes issued by First Uranium.
This transaction will be notified to the Competition Authorities in South Africa.
First Uranium is incorporated in Canada with a primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited. First Uranium is a gold and uranium producer with two primary assets, both located in South Africa -- the Ezulwini Mine outside Westonaria, Gauteng and the Mine Waste Solutions tailings recovery operation located adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's existing Vaal River operations.
In addition to being Africa's largest gold producer, AngloGold Ashanti is also South Africa's largest uranium producer. AngloGold Ashanti's uranium production during 2010 (as a by-product of its gold operations) amounted to 1.46 million pounds.
A copy of the early warning report in respect of the acquisition of First Uranium shares by AngloGold Ashanti required to be filed under applicable Canadian securities laws can be found at www.sedar.com under First Uranium's profile or can be obtained from AngloGold Ashanti by contacting, Lynda Eatwell, Company Secretary at 76 Jeppe Street, Marshalltown, 2107, South Africa or by phone on +27 11 637 6000 or by fax on +27 11 637 6677 or by e-mail to companysecretary@anglogoldashanti.com.
Certain statements made in this communication, including, without
limitation, those concerning the economic outlook for the gold
mining industry, expectations regarding gold prices, production, cash costs
and other operating results, growth prospects and outlook of AngloGold
Ashanti's operations, individually or in the aggregate, including the
completion and commencement of commercial operations of certain of
AngloGold Ashanti's exploration and production projects, the completion
of announced mergers and acquisitions transactions, AngloGold Ashanti's
liquidity and capital resources, and expenditure and the outcome and
consequences of any litigation proceedings or environmental issues,
contain certain forward-looking statements regarding AngloGold Ashanti's
operations, economic performance and financial condition. Although
AngloGold Ashanti believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that
such expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, results
could differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking
statements as a result of, among other factors, changes in economic
and market conditions, success of business and operating initiatives,
changes in the regulatory environment and other government actions
including environmental approvals and actions, fluctuations in gold
prices and exchange rates, and business and operational risk management.
For a discussion of certain of these factors, refer to AngloGold Ashanti's
annual report for the year ended 31 December 2010, which was distributed
to shareholders on 29 March 2011. The company's 2010 annual report on
Form 20-F, was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the
United States on May 31, 2011. AngloGold Ashanti undertakes no obligation
to update publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after today's date or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. 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.
AngloGold Ashanti posts information that is important to investors on the
main page of its website at www.anglogoldashanti.com and under the
"Investors" tab on the main page. This information is updated regularly.
Investors should visit this website to obtain important information about
AngloGold Ashanti.
Contacts Alan Fine (Media) +27 (0) 11 637-6383 +27 (0) 83 250 0757 Email Contact Mike Bedford (Investors) +27 (0) 11 637 6273 +27 (0) 82 3748820 Email Contact Stewart Bailey (Investors) +1 212 836 4303 +1 646 338 4337 Email Contact