Glossary of terms & acronyms (PDF - 342KB)

Glossary of terms and acronyms

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A$

Australian dollars

ABET:

Adult Basic Education and Training

ACMER:

Australian Centre for Minerals Extension & Research

ADR:

adsorption, desorption and recovery

AGANC:

AngloGold Ashanti (Nevada) Corp.

Agency shop agreement:

exists in South Africa across the non-supervisory bargaining unit within the company. In terms of this, subscriptions are deducted from non-union members and paid directly into a Human and Industrial Relations Fund (HIRF).

AHS:

AngloGold Health Service, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti, engaged in the provision of health care services

AMREF:

African Medical and Research Foundation - an independent non-profit, non-governmental organisation whose mission it is to improve the health of disadvantaged people in Africa

AngloGold Ashanti Fund:

vehicle for social investment initiatives in southern Africa

ART:

anti-retroviral therapy - treatment regimen for the treatment of people with HIV/AIDS, with anti-retroviral drugs

ASM:

artisanal and small scale mining

ATSDR:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Aurum:

Aurum Health Research - an independent section 21 company that undertakes research into HIV/AIDS and TB

Average number of employees:

average attributable number of both employees and contractors employed during the year, where contractors are defined as workers in employment for longer than one year

BEE:

Black Economic Empowerment, referring specifically to the empowerment of Historically Disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs); initiatives aimed at eliminating the economic legacy of apartheid in South Africa

By-products:

any products that arise from the core process of producing gold, including silver, uranium and sulphuric acid

CAD:

computer aided design

Capital expenditure:

total capital expenditure on mining assets to both maintain and expand operations

CASM:

communities and small scale mining

CBOs:

community-based organisations

CC&V:

Cripple Creek & Victor

CDPHE:

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

CEO:

chief executive officer

CFO:

chief financial officer

CIL:

carbon-in-leach. Gold recovery process

CIP:

carbon-in-pulp. Gold recovery process

Comminution:

breaking up of ore to make gold available for treatment

COO:

chief operating officer

CREATE:

Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS/TB Epidemic

CRJP:

Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices

CSMI:

Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry

CSIR:

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa

Cyanide Code:

International Cyanide Management Code

dBA:

decibels: unit of sound measurement

DDR:

Digital Diagnostic Radiography, used for the early detection of TB

Dick Fisher Global Safety Award:

An internal AngloGold Ashanti award intended as an incentive for outstanding safety performance, that recognises both actual safety performance as well as improvements year-on-year

DoH:

Department of Health

DME:

Department of Minerals and Energy, South Africa

DNPM:

Departamento Nacional de Producao Mineral (National Department of Mineral Production - Brazil)

DoE:

Department of Environment (Western Australia)

DRC:

Democratic Republic of Congo

DWAF:

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (South Africa)

Effective tax rate:

current and deferred taxation as a percentage of profit on ordinary activities before taxation

EIA:

Environmental Impact Assessment

EITI:

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

Elution:

process of re-dissolving gold from activated carbon

EMP:

Environmental Management Programme

EMPR:

Environmental Management Programme Report

EMS:

Environmental Management System

Entomology:

scientific study of insects

Equity:

shareholders' equity adjusted for other comprehensive income and deferred taxation. Where average equity is referred to, this is calculated by averaging the figures at the beginning and the end of the financial year

ETC:

education, training and counselling

Evapo-transpiration basin:

facility constructed at closure, which receives water from the reclaimed heap pad or Tailings Storage Facility (TSF)

Exco:

executive committee

FICA:

Financial Intelligence Centre Act, introduced in South Africa to eliminate money laundering and fraud at international level

FIFR:

Fatal Injury Frequency Rate. The number of fatal injuries per million hours worked

FNI:

Front National Integrationniste (rebel militant group in DRC)

Free cash flow:

net cash inflow from operating activities less capital expenditure to maintain operations

Fundamental Human Rights Conventions of the ILO:

International Labour Standards covered in the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 86th session, Geneva 1998)

Convention No. 29:

Forced Labour, 1930

Convention No. 87:

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, 1948

Convention No. 98:

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, 1949

Convention No. 100:

Equal Remuneration, 1951

Convention No. 105:

Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957

Convention No. 111:

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), 1958

Convention No. 138:

Minimum Age, 1973

Convention No. 182:

Worst Forms of Child Labour, 2000

GGM:

Geita Gold Mine

GIS:

Geographic Information System

Global Compact:

United Nations Global Compact (derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Labour Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.)

Grade:

the quantity of gold contained within a unit weight of gold-bearing material per ton of ore (oz/t), or grams per metric tonne (g/t)

GRB:

Geotechnical Review Board

Greenhouse gas emissions:

gaseous pollutants released into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels and through other avenues, that amplify the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is widely accepted as the cause of global climate change. Gases include CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs, SF₆, and other CO₂ equivalents

GRI:

Global Reporting Initiative. A multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission is to develop and disseminate globally applicable sustainability reporting guidelines

HAART:

Highly active anti-retroviral therapy. A cocktail of three or more drugs which in combination are strong enough to reduce viral loads to very low levels

HCBC:

home- and community-based care

HDSAs:

Historically Disadvantaged South Africans. This term refers to any persons or communities disadvantaged by unfair discrimination before the new South African Constitution came into effect. Includes those from the Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique.

Heap leach pad:

heap-leach facility in which gold-bearing ore is stacked. A high pH cyanide-based solution is sprayed or dripped over the heap leach dissolving the precious metals as it drains through the stack

HIRAs:

Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments

HIV:

human immunodeficiency virus

Holding Hands:

volunteer programme in South Africa

HPDs:

hearing protection devices

HRW:

Human Rights Watch

HSE:

health, safety and environment

HSRC:

Human Sciences Research Council

ITNs:

insecticide treated/impregnated bed nets

IAPs:

interested and affected parties

ICEM:

International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' unions

ICME:

International Council on Metals and the Environment, the forerunner of ICMM

ICMI:

International Cyanide Management Institute

ICMM:

International Council on Mining and Metals

IDAP:

Integrated Development Action Plan

IDP:

Integrated Development Plan

IDRM:

Integrated Damage Rheology Model

IEC:

information, education, communication

IFC:

International Finance Corporation

ILO:

International Labour Organization, a UN agency for the promotion of social justice and human and labour rights

IMDP:

Intermediate Management Development Programme

IMIU:

International Mining Industry Underwriters

Interest cover:

EBITDA divided by finance costs

International Cyanide Management Code:

Industry standard for cyanide management. Developed under the auspices of UNEP

IRMS:

Integrated Risk Management System

ISO:

International Standards Organization, a voluntary not-for-profit network of national standards institutes from 146 countries

ISO 14001:

ISO standard relating to environmental management systems

ISO 14001 certification:

certification based on regular auditing by an accredited external body

ISOS:

international (SOS), an international medical assistance and outsourced healthcare company

ISSI:

subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti that develops and implements seismic monitoring management systems

IUCN:

International Union for the Conservation of Nature

JSE:

JSE Securities Exchange South Africa

King Report/ King 2:

King Report on Corporate Governance, 2002

KOSH communities:

Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein, and Hartebeesfontein

Life-of-mine (LOM):

number of years that the operation is planning to mine and treat ore, and is taken from the current mine plan

LTIFR:

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate per million hours worked. Note that AngloGold Ashanti utilises the strictest definition in reporting Lost Time Injuries in that it includes all Disabling Injuries (where an individual is unable to return to his place of regular work the next calendar day after the injury) and Restricted Work Cases (where the individual may be at work, but unable to perform full or regular duties on the next calendar day after the injury) within this definition.

MAEP:

Medically Affected Employees Programme

Managerial employees:

defined as those in supervisory and management roles in Paterson job grades C-upper and above

Masakhisane:

venture capital company set up by AngloGold Ashanti to invest in small businesses. Works in conjunction with SMEDI.

Masifunde Fund:

(means ‘Let us learn' in Zulu and Xhosa) - A fund established by AngloGold in 1999 to fund the education for the children of those who have died in mine-related accidents on the South African operations

MBOD:

Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases

MDP:

Management Development Programme

MHSC:

Mine Health and Safety Council

Milling:

a process of reducing broken ore to a size at which concentrating can be undertaken

Mineral resources:

A mineral resource is a concentration or occurrence of material of economic interest in or on the earth's crust in such form, quality and quantity that there are reasonable and realistic prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, continuity and other geological characteristics of a mineral resource are known, estimated from specific geological evidence and knowledge, or interpreted from a well-constrained and portrayed geological model. Mineral resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories. The mineral resources are inclusive of those resources which have been modified to produce ore reserves.

Mining Charter or the Charter:

Broad-based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter

Mining-induced seismicity:

failure of the earth's crust or rock mass as a result of mining-induced changes in rock stress levels.

MLTIFR:

malaria lost-time injury frequency rate

MONUC:

the United Nations Organisation Mission in the DRC

MPRDA:

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 28 of 2002, which came into effect in South Africa on 11 May 2004. Regulates the granting of mining authorisations and prospecting permits

MQA:

Mine Qualifications Authority. A South African government body charged with developing standards and qualifications for the country's mining sector; maintaining the quality of standards, qualifications and learning provision; developing and implementing a sector skills plan; disbursing grants from the Skills Development Levy; and establishing, registering, administering and promoting learnerships and apprenticeship administration

MRS:

Mine Rescue Services, South Africa. A private sector non-profit organisation that trains volunteer brigadesman who work in the industry and find and recover fellow employees in the event of an underground accident or incident

MSF:

M?decins Sans Fronti?res – Doctors Without Borders

MUN:

Mineworkers Union of Namibia

MWU:

Mineworkers' Solidarity

N$:

Namibian dollar

NDA:

National Department of Agriculture, South Africa

NEMA:

National Environmental Management Act, 1998, South Africa

NETU:

National Employees' Trade Union

NGO:

non-governmental organisation

NICNAS:

National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme

NIHL:

noise-induced hearing loss. Compensable cases reported per 1,000 employees

NIOSH:

National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety - health and safety organisation based in Washington DC

NNR:

National Nuclear Regulator, South Africa

NOSA:

National Occupational Safety Association, South Africa. Provided auditing and certification services, with its liquidation in May 2005

NPO:

non-profit organisation

NPPR:

natural property private resource

NQF:

National Qualifications Framework

NUM:

National Union of Mineworkers (South Africa)

NYSE:

New York Stock Exchange

ODMWA:

Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act of 1973 (South Africa)

OHSAS 18001:

The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series, presents requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system

OKIMO:

Offices des Mines d'or de Kilo Moto

OLD:

occupational lung disease. Compensable cases reported per 1,000 employees.

Open-pit:

where top layers of soil are removed to uncover the reef

Operating margin:

adjusted operating profit as a percentage of gold income including realised non-hedge derivatives

Ore reserves:

an ore reserve is the economically mineable material derived from a measured and/or indicated mineral resource. It is inclusive of diluting materials and allows for losses that may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments have been carried out, including consideration of, and modification by, realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction is reasonably justified. Ore reserves are sub-divided in order of increasing confidence into probable ore reserves and proved ore reserves

OTD:

old tailings deposits

Ounces (oz) (troy):

used in imperial statistics. A kilogram is equal to 32.1507 ounces

Paterson grading system:

well-known job classification system used at a number of AngloGold Ashanti operations

PCAOB:

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Established in the US to oversee and regulate a public company's auditors in terms of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

PCDP:

Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan

PEC:

priority existing chemical

PEPAR:

President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief in the United States

PLH:

percentage loss of hearing

PPE:

personal protective equipment

Preconditioning:

drilling of holes ahead of the face to be blasted and detonating these with a light charge. To mitigate against mining-induced seismicity.

Price received:

attributable gold income including realised non-hedge derivatives divided by attributable ounces/kilograms sold.

Prophylactic treatment:

preventative/precautionary treatment

Proxies:

persons authorised to vote/act on another's behalf

PwC:

independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers

QA/QC:

quality assurance/ quality control

R:

South African rand

Rehabilitation:

the process of restoring mined land to allow an appropriate post-mining use. Rehabilitation standards are determined amongst others by the South African Department of Minerals and Energy, the US Bureau of Land Management, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Australian Minerals Industry Code for Environmental Management, and address ground and surface water, topsoil, final slope gradient, waste handling and re-vegetation issues

Resettlement policy for AngloGold Ashanti:

based on the IFC's Resettlement Policies, Guidelines and Standards

Return on equity:

adjusted headline earnings expressed as a percentage of the average equity, adjusted for the timing of acquisitions and disposals

Rockburst:

seismic release of energy, similar to an earthquake, that results in obvious damage to mining excavations

RPL:

Recognition of prior learning. Employees' current level of education is established and acknowledged.

RWD:

return water dam

SACU:

Southern African Customs Union

SAEWA:

South African Equity Workers' Association

SANS:

South African National Standards

SAQA:

South African Qualifications Authority

Sarbanes-Oxley:

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Introduced into law in the US to set new corporate governance standards for corporate boards and accountability standards and penalties for corporate management

SECNAMI:

Section Nationale des Mines et des Industries (Malian trade union)

Seismic event:

the transient motion and release of kinetic energy caused by sudden failure of the earth's crust, usually felt as shaking or tremors in the rock mass. Seismic events range in size from barely perceptible tremors to major earthquakes

SEMOS:

La Societe d'Exploitation des Mines d'Or de Sadiola

SETA:

Sector Education Training Authority

Shaft:

vertical or decline - means of transporting men and materials

SHEC:

safety, occupational health, biophysical environment and community investment

Silicosis:

occupational lung disease caused by the inhalation of free silica dust which is present in mining where quartz concentrations are high

SMAT:

Safety management auditing technique

SMEDI:

Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Development Initiative. Set up by AngloGold Ashanti in South Africa to stimulate economic growth by developing small businesses.

Social Development Toolbox:

Guide to AngloGold Ashanti's community practices

SPCC:

spill countermeasure and contingency plan

SRI:

Socially Responsible Investment Index, launched in 2004 by the JSE to identify those companies that integrate the principles of sustainability into their business activities, and to facilitate investment into those companies

STD:

sexually transmitted disease

STI:

sexually transmitted infection

Tailings:

the rejected material from mining and screening operations

TB:

pulmonary tuberculosis

TEBA:

The Employment Bureau of Africa. An institution owned by the South African mining industry, through which the industry has historically recruited labour but which now fulfills a broader social role in addition to its recruitment function

TEBA Development:

Not-for-profit company that undertakes development in rural labour-sending areas

Total cash costs:

total cash costs include site costs for all mining, processing and administration, as well as contributions from byproducts and are inclusive of royalties and production taxes. Amortisation, rehabilitation, corporate administration, retrenchment, capital and exploration costs are excluded. Total cash costs per ounce are the attributable total cash costs divided by the attributable ounces of gold produced

Total production costs:

total cash costs including amortisation, retrenchment, rehabilitation and other non-cash costs. Corporate administration, capital and exploration costs are excluded. Total production costs per ounce are the attributable total production costs divided by the attributable ounces of gold produced

TRI:

toxic relief inventory

TSF:

tailings storage facility. An engineered dam, designed and constructed as a repository for the ground rock or tailings after gold has been extracted.

TSI:

Tshikululu Social Investments. Non-profit organisation. Specialist managers of social investment – managers of the AngloGold Ashanti Fund

UASA:

United Association of South Africa (South African trade union)

UNDP:

United Nations Development Programme

UN General Assembly:

United Nations General Assembly

UNEP:

United Nations Environment Programme

USFS:

U.S. Forest Service

USFWS:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

VCT:

voluntary counselling and testing

VLF:

valley leach facility

WAD:

weak acid dissociable

WHO:

World Health Organization

ZDD:

zero discharge dam