Right of Use Assets and Lease Liabilities - Lease Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2019	Jan. 01, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
Non-current	$ 126
Current	45
Total	$ 171	$ 128

Leases [Abstract]

No definition available.

Name:	au_LeasesAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	au_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The amount of current lease liabilities. [Refer: Lease liabilities]

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Note Effective 2019-01-01
-Name IFRS
-Number 16
-IssueDate 2018-01-01
-Paragraph 47
-Subparagraph b
-URI http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/XBRL?type=IFRS&num=16&date=2018-03-01&anchor=para_47_b&doctype=Standard
-URIDate 2018-03-16

+ Details

Name:	ifrs-full_CurrentLeaseLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	ifrs-full_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of liabilities related to the entity's leases. Lease is a contract, or part of a contract, that conveys the right to use an underlying asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	ifrs-full_LeaseLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	ifrs-full_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The amount of non-current lease liabilities. [Refer: Lease liabilities]

+ References

+ Details

Name:	ifrs-full_NoncurrentLeaseLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	ifrs-full_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant