For the last two decades, Geita Gold Mine (GGM) has held a very special and unique place for AngloGold Ashanti. Not only is it one of our flagship mines, but I truly believe it represents a model for responsible investment in the extractive industry sector. With the dedication of our people, who look to deliver and support the Geita community every day, and continued investment, we have been able to turn GGM into Africa’s preeminent gold mine.

Our aim at Geita is for the gold mining sector in Tanzania to grow in a way that translates into prosperity. We genuinely believe our role as a corporate citizen, and one of the most important African investors in Tanzania, is to help facilitate and support the country’s goals in achieving middle-income status by 2025. With hard work and dedication, as well as a partnership approach with the government, GGML can and will help contribute to Tanzania’s economic development and improve the welfare of its people. Our value proposition aims not only to benefit the company and its shareholders, but also the societies in which we exist. GGM’s success is intertwined with the success of the communities and relationship with government.

We believe Geita Gold Mining Limited (GGML) and AngloGold Ashanti have provided a positive model with successive administrations on how the mining sector can cooperate with the Government of Tanzania. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) awarded GGM as the most consistent and compliant taxpayer in the country. GGM was also awarded the Best Employer of the Year Award as a 1st runner up in 2016 by the Association of Tanzania Employers, and were awarded as the most compliant employer in the mining sector by the National Social Security Fund. All of this would not be possible without a senior management team where Tanzanians comprise of 60% of the executive committee (ExCo). With their leadership, GGM has been recognized as a safety and health compliant company, recognised by the Occupational, Health and Safety (OHS) for two years in a row, most recently in 2017.

A thriving GGM, receiving its required investment, producing at its most efficient levels possible and delivering tax to the exchequer, is one of the most powerful tools to enable the country to reach its goals. As we embark on an ambitious strategy, investing several hundred million dollars at GGM to extend life of this iconic Tanzanian gold mine, we understand that in today’s world you cannot simply be a mining company. In order to succeed and provide lasting change to the communities you operate in and the country that hosts you, the activities must go beyond mining. This is something that my colleagues at AngloGold Ashanti wholeheartedly advocate. This is why GGML has invested significantly in the following key areas in Geita: education, health and infrastructure. These three areas will form the backbone of our future commitment to the people of Geita and Tanzania, which parallelly underline the government’s important industrialization plans.

For years GGML has been transforming lives in Tanzania, where GGML’s education-based programs have been empowering communities in the Geita area with the knowledge and skillsets to achieve their own vision and take charge of their own future. GGML’s most important endeavor to date, one which will have a significant and long-standing impact for the future, is GGML’s $7mn construction of the Nyankumubu Secondary School for girls. This terrific school, I believe, should be a model for future secondary schools across the country in terms of infrastructure, layout and facilities. Already it’s become an attractive destination for young girls in the Lake Zone. I am reminded of a bright young lady, Janeth G. Joseph, who went to Jordan University in Morogoro after successfully completing her high school studies at Nyankumubu. Janeth continues to visit Nyankumubu Secondary school; she also teaches there, starting an important cycle that I have no doubt will continue into the future. Of course, it will not be an easy journey and there is still a lot to be done at Nyankumubu - great facilities alone do not translate to good quality education. For that reason GGML’s focus over the next few years, working closely with local authorities, will be to improve the quality of education so that all the girls that attend our school are guaranteed future success in tertiary education.

Among the initiatives designed in partnership with the local government and host communities is a five-year plan to develop tailoring, welding, fabrication and brickmaking business through the Magogo SME Center. This center, established in 2016, will look to train and support young entrepreneurs in Geita and equip them to build skills and prepare them to start their own businesses. In that spirit of entrepreneurship, GGML has also created a space within the center that will see a group of women starting a catering service. At first the service caters for the center, but will eventually scale up to other parts of the community. This is just another example of what underpins our ultimate goal: helping build capacity and sustainable economic development for the future of Geita that goes beyond mining.

It is also great to see local farmers utilizing the skills introduced through the Geita Economic Development Plan. Farming represents an important fabric of Tanzania’s society and we recognize its significant role in socioeconomic development. Thanks to the new techniques used to improve the quality and quantity of their corps – and even introducing new commercially viable ones like sunflower – they have taken their grandfathers’ profession into a completely new level and have started to develop a more sustainable agribusiness model.

Helping these communities meet their critical needs is unquestionably worthy, but empowering them to acquire the know-how and enabling them to educate their fellow citizens is a lot better and by far more compelling. That’s why nurturing skill development in the Geita area is what we aim for. Facilitating aspects of local supply chains is essential to create a successful business cycle and stimulate the economy.

Education is just one component in which we will continue to invest in the future. Infrastructure, is another. The Geita Town Water Project represents a commitment to providing access to clean and safe water to the Geita community. Water access in Geita improved from 3% in 2012 to 36% in 2016, and as a result, the water service has improved the health standards of the people and nearly all water related diseases have been eradicated. GGML will continue to create the necessary conditions so that water access steadily improves over the next 5-10 years. GGML has $53 million worth of community projects planned for the next 14 years.

Looking ahead, we are optimistic that the future is bright. As we carry out further exploration work at GGM, we look to transition from open pit to underground drilling to extend the life of the mine and realize its full potential. GGML invested $713million in Tanzania over the past five years, and we are – with the help of our local stakeholders – determined to invest more to ensure sustainable development of our operations. In fact, the new 3,948 MW, $43 million power plant which we invested in, and is expected to come online in 2018, is a concrete testament of our long-term commitment to the country.

Our vision for the future is simple. AngloGold Ashanti will continue to develop GGM as a world-class asset in Tanzania, making a significant contribution towards the country’s Gross Domestic Product and prioritizing communal development and job creation. Our mission is to continue to develop a value-driven mining company that invests in its people and communities for the purpose of contributing to the development of Tanzania’s social and economic wellbeing.

Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan,
Chief executive officer