JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Africa’s top bullion producer AngloGold Ashanti said on Monday it fell into a loss in the fourth quarter of last year because of costs associated with layoffs and restructuring at its key Ghana operation and accounting adjustments.
AngloGold posted a fourth quarter adjusted headline earnings loss of $117 million compared to a profit of $45 million in the same period in 2013 and profit of $2 million in the previous quarter in 2014.
The company has been restructuring its Obuasi gold mine in Ghana, a century-old operation that has not made a profit in a decade.
AngloGold said the fourth quarter loss was mainly attributable to “$147 million associated with operational and corporate redundancies relating to the Obuasi restructuring, environmental liability resets of $20 million and closure costs of $13 million”.
