$AU

Gold Fields, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, and others signed MoUs for Siyakha Sonke, a collaborative initiative to address skills gaps and job creation in South Africa's mining sector. The program aims to align education and industry needs, with a focus on future-proofing skills for a changing economy. According to Gold Fields, the initiative seeks to bridge current and future workforce requirements.

AngloGold Ashanti plans to add 300,000-400,000 ounces of gold production by 2030 through projects in Egypt, Guinea, and Tanzania. The company aims to leverage existing operations with capital-efficient investments, according to its Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer.

AngloGold Ashanti CFO Gillian Doran emphasized disciplined share buybacks, stating they should be opportunistic. The company has a $2bn buyback program over five years, but dividends remain the primary shareholder return mechanism. BlackRock, a major shareholder, criticized gold companies for reckless buybacks at high valuations. AngloGold is investing in growth projects while maintaining balance sheet resilience.

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of AngloGold Ashanti (AU) and Endeavour Mining (EDVMF) with Buy ratings, citing central bank demand as a positive for gold prices. Gold Fields (GFI) received a Neutral rating.

US futures decline as global AI sector selloff intensifies, with Korea's Kospi entering a bear market and CoreWeave bonds in distress. Anthropic's Q3 revenue growth slows, and Gartner warns of potential AI infrastructure impairment. Treasuries rally, with 10Y yields dropping 10bps to 5.08%. S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and SOX indices fell yesterday. Premarket, Apple gains while other Mag-7 and AI-related stocks slide. Gold rises as AngloGold Ashanti is upgraded by Goldman Sachs.

Wall Street analysts issued upgrades, downgrades, and initiations for various companies. Bank of America (BAC) was upgraded to Outperform, while PayPal (PYPL) was downgraded to Underperform. Other notable actions include upgrades for Crocs (CROX) and Walmart (WMT), and downgrades for Align Technology (ALGN) and Spotify (SPOT). The market saw declines, with the Nasdaq down 1.88% due to inflation concerns and energy price impacts.

Analysts initiated coverage on several companies: Piper Sandler rated Redwire Corp (RDW) Neutral with a $11 target, Cantor Fitzgerald rated Eloxx Pharmaceuticals (ELOX) Overweight, HC Wainwright rated Sight Sciences (SGHT) Buy with a $14 target, Goldman Sachs rated Anglogold Ashanti (AU) Buy with a $104 target, and Raymond James rated First Financial Bankshares (FFIN) Market Perform.

AngloGold Ashanti is Africa's most valuable listed company in 2026, with a market cap of $48B, overtaking Naspers. Gold Fields ranks second at $32.9B. South African firms dominate the top ten, including banks and telecoms. Airtel Africa, based in London, is the only non-South African in the top ten.

The JSE publicly reprimanded AngloGold Ashanti for a 27-minute delay in releasing its Q2 2025 results and dividend declaration on Sens compared to other platforms. The exchange cited a breach of simultaneous disclosure rules, which aim to ensure equal information access for investors. No penalty was imposed. AngloGold is listed on NYSE and JSE.

Latin American mining has faced $54B in losses or delays since 2018 due to permitting, community conflict, and security issues. AMI estimates $38B in direct losses and $16B in frozen capital. Key projects in Peru and Mexico are stalled, while BHP, Vale, and Samarco settled a $31.7B case in Brazil. Experts note varying risks across countries and highlight execution certainty as a major constraint.