AngloGold Ashanti Resumes Full Domestic Processing of Brazilian Gold Concentrate
- AngloGold Ashanti has resumed full domestic processing of all gold concentrate from its Brazilian operations following the reactivation of a second plant at its Queiroz industrial complex, according...
- The restart restores the complex’s total processing capacity to 280,000 metric tons of gold concentrate per year.
- The full reactivation of the site re-establishes vertical integration across AngloGold Ashanti's regional footprint.
AngloGold Ashanti has resumed full domestic processing of all gold concentrate from its Brazilian operations following the reactivation of a second plant at its Queiroz industrial complex, according to reports from mining sector publications. The milestone allows the major gold producer to eliminate the export of concentrate fractions for external processing.
Investment and Capacity at the Queiroz Complex
The restart restores the complex’s total processing capacity to 280,000 metric tons of gold concentrate per year. AngloGold Ashanti originally took both plants at the Queiroz complex offline in 2022 to carry out necessary adjustments regarding the treatment of liquid waste, according to Luis Lima, the company’s head for Latin America. While the first of the two facilities was brought back into service in 2024, the company was forced to sell a portion of its raw gold concentrate directly on the market due to constrained domestic capacity.
Strategic Shift Toward Vertical Integration
The full reactivation of the site re-establishes vertical integration across AngloGold Ashanti’s regional footprint. Speaking on the sidelines of a mining conference in Belo Horizonte, Lima cited vertical integration as the primary driver behind the capital expenditure and operational push. Operating the complete Queiroz site gives the miner tighter operational oversight over the material yielded by its local mines. Located in Minas Gerais, a core mineral-producing hub in Brazil, the industrial complex also manufactures sulfuric acid alongside its primary gold activities. Public disclosures from the company indicate that the site maintains an annual sulfuric acid output capacity of approximately 240,000 tons.
