AngloGold Ashanti Sees Gold Output up 27% by '15

African, Australian and Colombian prospects will play a key role in boosting AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.'s gold output to 5.5 million ounces by 2015, the world's third-largest gold mining company said Tuesday.

Gold production this year is estimated to be 4.33 million ounces, according to a presentation on the company's Web site.

AngloGold Ashanti also said it expects operational free cash flow this year of $2.61 billion, up from $619 million in 2008.

By 2015, real unit costs will be cut by a fifth. By 2013 AngloGold Ashanti expects to double its capital expenditures to $1.5 billion.

The South Africa-based company said its Gramalote and La Colosa projects in Colombia's Anaima Tocha Belt have world-class potential.

In Africa, AngloGold Ashanti said prospects in Egypt, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Tanzania (Mongbwalu), Congo and Guinea (Saraya and Kounkoun) are all showing significant results and progress.

In Western Australia, the company's Tropicana-Havana project also holds significant promise.

Among greenfield discoveries, La Colosa, Tropicana, Gramalote and Mongbwalu contain 19.8 million ounces of gold, the company said. The Tropicana project, which begins producing in 2013, is expected to produce about nearly 400,000 yearly by 2014.

In South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti said it expects to maintain production at around 1.7 million ounces.