AngloGold goes global with Normandy acquisition

By Dudley White
Bloomberg News
September 5, 2001

Johannesburg (Bloomberg) -- AngloGold Ltd. shares were
suspended in Australia amid speculation the world's
largest gold miner may bid for Normandy Mining Ltd.

Shares in Normandy, Australia's biggest gold producer,
were also suspended.

Analysts have speculated Johannesburg-based AngloGold
held talks last year with Normandy, which has a market
value of A$2.5 billion ($1.3 billion) and A$1.18
billion in long-term debt. AngloGold spokeswoman Andrea
Maxey said the company will make a further announcement
at noon.

AngloGold has been trying to boost profit by buying
mines overseas and closing or selling operations in
South Africa, where mining costs are among the highest
in the world. The company in 1999 paid $529 million for
Australia's Acacia Resources Ltd.

quot;Seeing that trading halts have been applied to both
at the same time suggests that some deal is happening.
Whether it's friendly or not I have no idea,quot; said Gary
Armor, who helps manage A$1 billion in resources stocks
at AMP Henderson Global Investors in Sydney. quot;It sort
of makes sense. But at the moment it's all very
tenuous.quot;

Normandy shares yesterday rose 4 cents, or 3.8 percent,
to A$1.10. The Adelaide-based company said it quot;has reason
to believe that it may be the subject of an announcement
concerning a price-sensitive proposal in relation to the
company's shares.quot;

Peter Bird, a spokesman for Normandy, couldn't be reached
for further comment.

Last July AngloGold was linked with a takeover bid for
Normandy by analysts. In September, the company said it
admired Normandy's assets though it wasn't about to make
a bid.

Toronto-based Franco-Nevada Mining Corp. in May bought a
19.9 percent stake in Normandy in exchange for cash and
a mine.

AngloGold, in a statement filed with the Australian
Stock Exchange, said it was in talks about a quot;major
transaction.quot;

quot;At this stage, AngloGold is not in a position to make
an announcement in relation to the transaction or the
outcome of these discussions,quot; the company said.

________________________

If you benefit from GATA's dispatches, please consider
making a financial contribution. GATA welcomes
contributions as follows.

By check:

Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
c/o Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer
7 Villa Louisa Road
Manchester, CT 06043-7541
USA

By credit card (MasterCard, Visa, and
Discover) over the Internet:

a href=http://www.gata.org/creditcard.htmlhttp://www.gata.org/creditcard.html/a

By bank wire:

Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
c/o Savings Bank of Manchester
923 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
USA
Bank routing number 211-170-185
For account number 9500-574-053

By GoldMoney:

a href=http://www.GoldMoney.comhttp://www.GoldMoney.com/a
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Holding number 50-08-58-L

By E-Gold:

a href=http://www.e-gold.comhttp://www.e-gold.com/a
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Account number 110915

GATA is a civil rights and educational organization
under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and contributions
to it are tax-deductible in the United States.