AngloGold affirms production views

NEW YORK (Reuters) - South African gold producer AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANGJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) still expects 2006 production of about 5.8 million to 6.1 million ounces of gold, with 500,000 ounces added for 2007, Chief Executive Bobby Godsell said on Wednesday.

Godsell, speaking at the Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit in New York, also said the company was comfortable with production being about 15 percent hedged this year.

"Frankly that's a level of insurance, if you like, that we're quite comfortable with," Godsell said.

The company, the world's third-biggest gold producer, has been de-hedging for years, though it said that is not necessarily a comment on the idea of hedging.

"We're going to continue to run down our hedge," Godsell said. "We are not theological anti-hedges."

He also said that further hedges in the future were not out of the question and might be financially attractive.

"We're heading back into contango country so there is a value option," he said, referring to interest rates and the price of gold.

While Godsell said gold's fundamentals remained strong, he declined to forecast a specific price for the metal, which is at about a 25-year high even with a sharp correction over the last month or so. Yet he saw a scarcity of new supply in coming years.

"My own view is that new mine production is going to go flat or slightly decline," Godsell said.