By: Mining mx

ANGLOGOLD Ashanti and Gold Fields have suspended plans to form a joint venture between their Ghana mines Iduapriem and Tarkwa.

The Johannesburg-listed companies said on Tuesday they now preferred to focus on the standalone value of their properties.

Although unstated by the companies, the decision is largely driven by the soaring gold price, up about 44% in the last 12 months. Higher gold prices means the two companies would be able to economically extract more of the orebodies of their respective mines.

AngloGold said it had “identified changes in its standalone mine plan for Iduapriem which have the potential to unlock significant additional value.”

AngloGold added that it would “consolidate the improvements to its long-term mining plan” while the joint venture was paused in order to identify the “highest value of its options”.

When the joint venture was announced, in March 2023, the aim was to create a single mine in Ghana which was described as Africa’s largest. Gold Fields was to be operator and control 60% of the joint venture once the 10% ownership of Ghana was agreed with the government. But this important goal was not achieved.

Ghana suffered a debt crisis and then last year changed government. The new government was partial to the joint venture, however, and regulatory approval not the reason for the joint venture being paused, according to sources.

Commenting in its first quarter update today, Gold Fields said that while the combination of the two mines was “compelling”, it would focus on Tarkwa’s independent future.