While absolute results remain low overall, AngloGold Ashanti shows one of the three stronger results in Economic Development and Community Wellbeing. The company also shows one of the five stronger results in Lifecycle Management and Environmental Responsibility. For the other two thematic areas, Business Conduct and Working Conditions, AngloGold Ashanti’s results are above the average achieved by the 40 companies.

AngloGold Ashanti’s relatively stronger results in the company-wide assessment reflect its establishment of formalised commitments and company-wide systems on a range of issues. For example, in Economic Development, the company has corporate-level guidelines for partnering with sub-national producing country governments on socio-economic development planning. In Community Wellbeing, the company has systems designed to ensure its operations engage with local communities and artisanal and small-scale miners, and design and implement strategies to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples potentially affected by its operations.

In Lifecycle Management, AngloGold Ashanti has systematic measures to hold board directors and senior managers accountable for responsible business conduct on ESG issues. In Environmental Responsibility, the company has systems in place to identify and mitigate potential risks related to the handling and disposal of hazardous materials.

The company shows evidence of continuous improvement in several areas since the RMI Report 2020, notably its new Global Supply Chain Local Procurement Update which includes supporting local suppliers through business and capacity building.

AngloGold Ashanti is associated with several leading practices, including a land use management standard which requires that operations regularly identify areas that can be made available for progressive rehabilitation, and a refresher training program for investigators of allegations made through it the whistleblowing mechanism.

On the other hand, the company’s overall results are limited by a lack of evidence on some issues, such as disclosing the legal titles granting it the right to mine, and tracking and reviewing the quality of its relationships with affected communities. The company also shows limited evidence of systematic action on identifying and addressing how climate change can exacerbate the impacts of its operations on its workforce, affected communities, and the environment.

AngloGold Ashanti ranks 10th out of the 40 companies on its mine-site-level results, though with an average score of only 12% in the mine-site assessment. Moreover, AngloGold Ashanti’s results in the site-level assessment reveal that none of its seven assessed mine sites show any relevant evidence on six of the fifteen issues covered in the mine-site assessment: safety of communities, safety of workers, women workers, workplace deaths, training of workers, and living wage.