AngloGold Ashanti confirmed that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has served notice that it intends to call a strike by its members at the company's South Africa operations, starting 23 January 2014. The strike will also affect some mines owned and operated by other large, South African gold producers covered by the industry's collective bargaining structure. The strike has been called in respect of the 2013 wage negotiations.

These negotiations were concluded on 10 September 2013 when a multi-year agreement was reached between South Africa's major gold producers, represented in a collective bargaining forum by the Chamber of Mines, and three of the four unions (the National Union of Mineworkers, United Association of South Africa and Solidarity), representing 72% of the gold sector's employees at the time. AMCU, which represented about 17% of employees at the time and participated in the central level negotiations, did not accept the agreement.