Stock Research and Analysis
by Vahid Fathi, D.Sc.Anglogold reserve ounces at year-end 2007 were up 9% to 73.1 million. The company posted a sharper increase of 18% in its resource ounces to 207.6 million. With such massive resource and reserve bases and estimated production ounces between 4.9 million Read more 
Bulls Say
The company mines gold throughout the world, which helps reduce its dependence on South Africa, where costs are high and the government is not always friendly.
The company pays a good dividend, so the shares typically sport a high yield for a gold-mining stock.
Gold companies tend to be countercyclical. They also provide an excellent hedge to inflation risk. Read more
Bears Say
Anglogold's hedge book prevents it from being fully leveraged to the price of gold.
Unlike most gold companies, which have minimal debt, Anglogold uses a modest amount of financial leverage.
Anglogold's operations are in high-inflation countries. High inflation without a corresponding devaluation or increase in the dollar price of gold will hurt the bottom line.
For investors looking for gold exposure, a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund is a safer alternative. Read more
Strategy
The company is focused on its core assets and a healthy project pipeline. The company's strategy is to maintain a dominant position in long-life, low-cost reserves. Anglogold contemplates a significant Read more
Management
Mark Cutifani took over as CEO in September 2007 after the retirement of Bobby Godsell. Cutifani was formerly the COO at CVRD RIO, where he had responsibility for the global nickel business. Read more
Profile
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Anglogold Ashanti is a global gold producer with 21 operations in 10 countries on four continents, a substantial project pipeline, and Read more
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