Will AngloGold Ashanti's Brownfield Exploration Fuel Growth?
AngloGold Ashanti plc AU is advancing its pipeline of organic greenfield and brownfield growth projects. The company’s brownfields exploration focuses on adding value to existing mines, targeting low-risk, high-return growth and life-extension opportunities. As part of the brownfields exploration, AngloGold Ashanti is moving forward with mining, processing and recovery improvements at its Obuasi, Geita, Sukari, Siguiri and Cuiabá mines.
AU is moving forward with its investment strategy, with additional capital expenditure approved for this year at its Geita Gold Mine in Tanzania. AU has also planned $100 million in investments over the next three years for the expansion of the mine. The company expects ongoing exploration at the mine to unlock growth potential for both underground and open pit.
Obuasi remains a significant pillar of its long-term strategy, which is expected to deliver 400,000 ounces of annual production at competitive costs by 2028. At the Siguiri mine, the company is progressing with the development of an additional satellite pit, while aiming to extend mine life through mineral reserve growth and infrastructure upgrades.
At Cuiabá, the company is extending the mine life through mineral reserve growth and infrastructure upgrades, along with increasing plant throughput via Line 2 refurbishment and implementing higher ore feed from satellite operations.
At Cuiabá, the company is boosting plant throughput by refurbishing Line 2 and processing higher ore feed from satellite operations while extending the mine life through mineral reserve growth. AngloGold Ashanti is expanding the Sukari mine with a new portal, fleet upgrade and accelerated stripping. This pipeline of high-return, capital-efficient brownfield opportunities has the potential to increase gold production from 2029.
Growth Drivers of Other Gold Miners
SSR Mining Inc. SSRM remains the third-largest U.S. gold producer, driven by the two high-quality, long-lived assets, Marigold in Nevada and CC&V in Colorado. SSR Mining is moving forward with growth initiatives across the Marigold mine, including Buffalo Valley. The company expects an updated life of mine plan by 2026-end.
The company increased the mine’s 2026 growth capital guidance from $48 million to $65 million as it plans to boost longer-term growth. With more than 38 years of operations, SSR Mining remains optimistic about Marigold's long-term growth. Along with SSRM’s other key projects like CC&V, as well as Seabee and Puna, Marigold showcases significant potential upside.
Newmont Corporation NEM is progressing with several growth projects like Cadia Panel Caves and Tanami Expansion 2 in Australia. These projects are expected to expand Newmont’s production capacity and extend mine life, driving revenues and profits.
Newmont has recommenced work at the Cadia panel cave project following the seismic event in April. The Tanami expansion is progressing with an expected completion of all underground infrastructure by the end of the third quarter of 2026.
AU’s Price Performance, Valuations & Estimates
AngloGold Ashanti’s stock has jumped 42.9% in a year, outperforming the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s 21.8% return. During this time, the Basic Materials sector has risen 17.1% and the S&P 500 has advanced 17.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The AU stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month earnings multiple of 12.22X, which is a discount to the industry average of 12.98X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AngloGold Ashanti’s 2026 sales is $12.27 billion, indicating a 26.1% year-over-year jump. The consensus mark for the year’s earnings is pegged at $8.16 per share, suggesting a year-over-year rally of 52%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2027 sales implies a 1.6% year-over-year dip. The same for earnings suggests a fall of 0.9%.
EPS estimates for 2026 have moved south, while the same for 2027 have been trending north over the past 60 days, as seen in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AU currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
