2.2.0.7 false Nature of operations 00910 - Disclosure - Nature of operations true false false false 1 USD false false Monetary Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 0 EarninsPerShareUSD Divide http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares xbrli 0 Shares Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares xbrli 0 $ 2 Nature Of Operations Abstract 0 au_NatureOfOperationsAbstract au false na duration No definition available. false false false false false true false false false false false false 1 false false false false 0 0 false false false xbrli:stringItemType string No definition available. false 3 Nature Of Operations 1 us-gaap_NatureOfOperations us-gaap true na duration No definition available. false false false false false false false false false false false false 1 false false false false 0 0 AngloGold Ashanti Limited (the "Company"), as it conducts business today, was formed on April 26, 2004 following the Business Combination of AngloGold Limited (AngloGold) with Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited (Ashanti). AngloGold, formerly Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was incorporated in South Africa on May 29, 1944 and Ashanti was incorporated in Ghana on August 19, 1974.  The Company conducts gold-mining operations in the following regions: South Africa; Continental Africa (Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia and Tanzania); Australasia (Australia) and the Americas (Argentina, Brazil and United States of America).  The Company also produces as by-product: silver, uranium oxide and sulfuric acid. AngloGold Ashanti Limited (the "Company"), as it conducts business today, was formed on April 26, 2004 following the Business Combination of false false false us-types:textBlockItemType textblock Describes the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings). Disclosures about the nature of operations need not be quantified; relative importance could be conveyed by use of terms such as "predominately", "about equally", or "major and other". This element is also referred to as "Business Description". Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher AICPA -Name Statement of Position (SOP) -Number 94-6 -Paragraph 10 false 1 2 false UnKnown UnKnown UnKnown false true