Climate change and energy

“Physical climate risk assessments were undertaken for all operations in 2020.”

PRIORITIZED SDGs

Climate change remains a focus and the past year saw the formation of an internal Climate Change Working Group (CCWG). Its members are drawn from key functions and from across our operating regions. The primary purpose of the working group, whose mandate is secured by the Executive Committee, is to lead the development of an updated climate change response for the Company.

Its work broadly includes:

developing new climate change objectives for AngloGold Ashanti that will enhance the climate resilience of our operations and host communities
framing further climate mitigation targets that are aligned with our business plans and supported by internal climate performance incentives
implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure

The CCWG’s work in 2020 focused on reviewing the extent to which climate-related issues and risks are integrated into the business and on updating our knowledge of the physical climate risks in the locations where we operate. Physical climate risk assessments were undertaken for all our operations using current climate models under three Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. These virtual workshops were facilitated by Acclimatise, a leading physical climate change specialist and included outlining of climate adaptation plans for each operation. Over 2021, these adaptation plans will be further refined and their implementation initiated.

The sale of our South African assets during the third quarter resulted in a reduction in our overall carbon emissions, more than offsetting those attributable to Obuasi mine’s ramp-up.

In 2008, the Company targeted a 30% reduction in the GHG emission intensity of its portfolio by 2022, off a 2007 base. This was reached by 2018 and although 2020 saw a slight increase in carbon emission intensity, it remained 43% below 2007. We have also achieved a 48% reduction in absolute carbon emissions since 2007.

While the portfolio’s long-term emission reductions are partly due to changes in the Company’s asset mix, material reductions were delivered by energy-efficiency and fuel switching projects. Our Quebradona project in Colombia is expected to use power from the national grid, which is predominately hydropower.

Our performance

Indicator	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Energy consumption (Petajoules)
Group	25.57	26.32	25.38	29.76	28.55
Argentina	1.56	1.86	1.87	1.90	1.76
Cerro Vanguardia	1.56	1.86	1.87	1.90	1.76
Australia	7.77	7.68	6.72	6.32	5.62
Sunrise Dam	2.79	2.67	2.49	2.18	2.03
Tropicana	4.97	5.01	4.23	4.14	3.59
Brazil	2.61	2.45	2.26	2.33	2.18
AGA Mineração	1.98	1.83	1.72	1.77	1.64
Serra Grande	0.62	0.62	0.54	0.56	0.54
Ghana	2.45	1.99	1.84	1.72	1.32
Iduapriem	1.43	1.41	1.58	1.46	1.02
Obuasi	1.02	0.58	0.26	0.26	0.30
Guinea	3.28	3.02	2.29	2.40	2.58
Siguiri	3.28	3.02	2.29	2.40	2.58
Mali	1.22	1.23	1.31	1.55	1.50
Sadiola	1.22	1.23	1.31	1.55	1.40
Yatela	–	–	0.00	0.00	0.10
South Africa	3.35	4.40	5.17	10.05	10.54
Mine Waste Solutions	0.67	0.82	0.87	0.83	0.74
Vaal River	0.37	0.60	1.20	4.61	4.87
West Wits	2.31	2.98	3.10	4.61	4.93
Tanzania	3.34	3.69	3.92	3.49	3.07
Geita	3.34	3.69	3.92	3.49	3.07
Energy intensity (Gigajoule per metric tonne treated)
Group	0.37	0.33	0.32	0.35	0.33
Argentina	0.69	0.64	0.65	0.58	0.56
Cerro Vanguardia	0.69	0.64	0.65	0.58	0.56
Australia	0.60	0.60	0.57	0.54	0.51
Sunrise Dam	0.69	0.65	0.62	0.54	0.50
Tropicana	0.56	0.58	0.54	0.54	0.52
Brazil	0.49	0.54	0.55	0.53	0.53
AGA Mineração	0.52	0.57	0.58	0.59	0.59
Serra Grande	0.41	0.47	0.47	0.39	0.41
Ghana	0.44	0.28	0.30	0.34	0.26
Iduapriem	0.29	0.28	0.30	0.29	0.20
Obuasi	1.66	–	0.00	0.00	0.00
Guinea	0.29	0.29	0.22	0.21	0.21
Siguiri	0.29	0.29	0.22	0.21	0.21
Mali	0.33	0.26	0.25	0.31	0.29
Sadiola	0.33	0.26	0.25	0.31	0.28
Yatela	–	–	–	–	0.54
South Africa	0.14	0.13	0.15	0.26	0.27
Mine Waste Solutions	0.04	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.03
Vaal River	0.16	0.16	0.29	0.58	0.54
West Wits	0.67	0.63	0.66	1.00	1.11
Tanzania	0.62	0.71	0.73	0.65	0.56
Geita	0.62	0.71	0.73	0.65	0.56
GHG emissions (Kilotonnes of GHG)
Group	2,337	2,570	2,571	3,953	4,062
Argentina	83	101	102	106	120
Cerro Vanguardia	83	101	102	106	120
Australia	451	449	395	372	336
Sunrise Dam	154	146	140	122	113
Tropicana	297	303	255	250	223
Brazil	83	76	66	76	60
AGA Mineração	59	52	45	52	41
Serra Grande	24	24	21	24	19
Ghana	238	185	165	160	149
Iduapriem	126	121	134	124	108
Obuasi	112	64	31	36	41
Guinea	222	205	156	163	194
Siguiri	222	205	156	163	194
Mali	83	84	89	106	111
Sadiola	83	84	89	106	104
Yatela	–	–	–	–	7
South Africa	950	1,139	1,332	2,733	2,864
Mine Waste Solutions	177	210	210	201	207
Vaal River	109	173	317	1,242	1,282
West Wits	664	835	805	1,290	1,375
Tanzania	227	251	266	238	228
Geita	227	251	266	238	228
GHG emissions intensity (Kilograms of GHG per tonne treated)
Group	33	32	32	46	48
Argentina	37	35	35	32	38
Cerro Vanguardia	37	35	35	32	38
Australia	35	35	33	32	31
Sunrise Dam	38	36	35	30	28
Tropicana	34	35	33	33	32
Brazil	16	17	16	17	15
AGA Mineração	16	16	15	17	15
Serra Grande	16	18	18	17	14
Ghana	42	24	31	32	29
Iduapriem	25	24	25	25	21
Obuasi	183	0	0	0	0
Guinea	20	20	15	14	16
Siguiri	20	20	15	14	16
Mali	22	18	17	21	22
Sadiola	22	18	17	21	21
Yatela	–	–	–	–	40
South Africa	40	35	38	70	73
Mine Waste Solutions	10	8	8	8	8
Vaal River	47	45	78	156	143
West Wits	194	176	171	280	311
Tanzania	42	48	50	44	41
Geita	42	48	50	44	41
Direct and Indirect Energy (Petajoules)
Group
Indirect Energy	5.99	6.48	6.85	11.35	11.76
Direct Energy	19.58	19.85	18.54	18.42	16.79
Sadiola
Indirect Energy	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Direct Energy	1.22	1.23	1.31	1.55	1.40
Yatela
Indirect Energy	–	–	–	–	0.00
Direct Energy	–	–	–	–	0.10
Obuasi
Indirect Energy	0.79	0.45	0.24	0.25	0.29
Direct Energy	0.22	0.13	0.02	0.02	0.01
Iduapriem
Indirect Energy	0.53	0.48	0.50	0.45	0.49
Direct Energy	0.91	0.93	1.08	1.00	0.54
Siguiri
Indirect Energy	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Direct Energy	3.28	3.02	2.29	2.40	2.58
Geita
Indirect Energy	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Direct Energy	3.34	3.69	3.92	3.49	3.07
Sunrise Dam
Indirect Energy	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Direct Energy	2.79	2.67	2.49	2.18	2.03
Tropicana
Indirect Energy	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Direct Energy	4.97	5.01	4.23	4.14	3.59
AGA Brazil (AGA Mineração)
Indirect Energy	1.05	0.91	0.80	0.81	0.71
Direct Energy	0.94	0.92	0.92	0.96	0.93
Serra Grande
Indirect Energy	0.37	0.37	0.34	0.33	0.32
Direct Energy	0.25	0.24	0.21	0.23	0.22
Cerro Vanguardia
Indirect Energy	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Direct Energy	1.56	1.86	1.87	1.90	1.76
Vaal River (Input)
Indirect Energy	0.37	0.60	1.17	4.26	4.36
Direct Energy	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.35	0.51
West Wits (Input)
Indirect Energy	2.30	2.96	3.06	4.58	4.87
Direct Energy	0.01	0.01	0.04	0.03	0.06
Mine Waste Solutions
Indirect Energy	0.58	0.70	0.74	0.66	0.74
Direct Energy	0.09	0.12	0.13	0.16	0.01
Direct and Indirect GHG Emissions (Kilotonnes of GHG)
Group
Direct GHG Emissions	1,214	1,233	1,147	1,205	1,182
Indirect GHG Emissions	1,123	1,337	1,424	2,747	2,880
Sadiola
Direct GHG Emissions	83	84	89	106	104
Indirect GHG Emissions	0	0	0	0	0
Yatela
Direct GHG Emissions	–	–	–	–	7
Indirect GHG Emissions	–	–	–	–	–
Obuasi
Direct GHG Emissions	15	9	1	1	1
Indirect GHG Emissions	97	55	29	35	40
Iduapriem
Direct GHG Emissions	62	63	73	68	40
Indirect GHG Emissions	64	58	61	55	68
Siguiri
Direct GHG Emissions	222	205	156	163	194
Indirect GHG Emissions	0	0	0	0	0
Geita
Direct GHG Emissions	227	251	266	238	228
Indirect GHG Emissions	0	0	0	0	0
Sunrise Dam
Direct GHG Emissions	154	146	140	122	113
Indirect GHG Emissions	0	0	0	0	0
Tropicana
Direct GHG Emissions	297	303	255	250	223
Indirect GHG Emissions	0	0	0	0	0
AGA Brazil (AGA Mineração)
Direct GHG Emissions	46	38	32	36	36
Indirect GHG Emissions	14	14	13	16	6
Serra Grande
Direct GHG Emissions	17	17	14	15	16
Indirect GHG Emissions	6	8	7	9	3
Cerro Vanguardia
Direct GHG Emissions	83	101	102	106	120
Indirect GHG Emissions	0	0	0	0	0
Vaal River (Input)
Direct GHG Emissions	0	0	2	46	59
Indirect GHG Emissions	109	173	315	1 196	1 223
West Wits (Input)
Direct GHG Emissions	0.42	7	5	40	42
Indirect GHG Emissions	663	828	800	1 251	1 333
Mine Waste Solutions
Direct GHG Emissions	7	9	10	14	0
Indirect GHG Emissions	170	201	200	186	206

Financial implications and opportunities due to climate change
Climate change poses challenges and opportunities to AngloGold Ashanti and consideration of these factors influences business-planning processes. Regulatory responses to climate change in the form of carbon pricing and budgeting are increasingly being considered in the jurisdictions in which we operate and as more participating countries ratify the 2015 Paris Agreement. Its however noted that economic concerns appear to be delaying the implementation of these in some jurisdictions. The South African carbon tax was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa and gazetted in May 2019. The first phase of the act came into effect on 1 June 2019. This phase applies to Scope 1 emitters until 31 December 2022 and contains tax-free emission allowances. In 2020, our South African operation’s Scope 1 emissions were approximately 7Kt and will not attract material carbon taxes. The Australian Commonwealth Government introduced the Safeguard Mechanism (Rule 2015) to provide a framework for Australia’s largest emitters to measure, report and manage their emissions. It does this by encouraging large facilities, whose net emissions exceed the safeguard threshold, to keep their emissions at or below emissions baselines set by the Clean Energy Regulator. The safeguard mechanism applies to facilities with Scope 1 emissions of more than 100,000 tonnes of CO₂-e per financial year. The Australian mining operations (Sunrise Dam and Tropicana) had emissions baselines set in 2016 for a 3 year period, to meet the requirements of the safeguard mechanism. The Safeguard Mechanism (Rule 2015) has been amended to adopt government-determined prescribed production variables. Over 2020, the Australian mining operations re-calculated their respective emissions baselines to comply with the changes in legislation.

Financial implications and opportunities due to climate change

Climate change poses challenges and opportunities to AngloGold Ashanti and consideration of these factors influences business-planning processes. Regulatory responses to climate change in the form of carbon pricing and budgeting are increasingly being considered in the jurisdictions in which we operate and as more participating countries ratify the 2015 Paris Agreement. Its however noted that economic concerns appear to be delaying the implementation of these in some jurisdictions.

The South African carbon tax was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa and gazetted in May 2019. The first phase of the act came into effect on 1 June 2019. This phase applies to Scope 1 emitters until 31 December 2022 and contains tax-free emission allowances. In 2020, our South African operation’s Scope 1 emissions were approximately 7Kt and will not attract material carbon taxes.

The Australian Commonwealth Government introduced the Safeguard Mechanism (Rule 2015) to provide a framework for Australia’s largest emitters to measure, report and manage their emissions. It does this by encouraging large facilities, whose net emissions exceed the safeguard threshold, to keep their emissions at or below emissions baselines set by the Clean Energy Regulator. The safeguard mechanism applies to facilities with Scope 1 emissions of more than 100,000 tonnes of CO₂-e per financial year. The Australian mining operations (Sunrise Dam and Tropicana) had emissions baselines set in 2016 for a 3 year period, to meet the requirements of the safeguard mechanism. The Safeguard Mechanism (Rule 2015) has been amended to adopt government-determined prescribed production variables. Over 2020, the Australian mining operations re-calculated their respective emissions baselines to comply with the changes in legislation.

Indicators

Years

Policies and standards

Environmental policy (pdf, 105kb)