Dushnisky shared some initial thoughts of his new company at the Denver Gold Forum, noting he had to be careful what he said after only starting on September 1.

"I've been in listen and learn mode," he said.

Leading a competitor of AngloGold's, Dusknisky said he was aware of the company's assets, but didn't fully realise its high-quality asset mix.

"When I joined I had a high degree of optimism around my ability to create value," he said.

"In a limited time, I'm even more optimistic."

To prove his positive early view, Dushnisky put his money where his mouth is earlier this month, spending US$390,584 buying AngloGold shares on-market on the New York Stock Exchange.

Dushnisky said he was also impressed by was AngloGold's technical and operational capabilities.

"One thing I didn't understand, but I'm getting to know better, is the exploration potential, both around the mines and greenfields," he said.

"You should expect to see more from us on that as we go forward."

Dushnisky said his priorities were to continue to strengthen the balance sheet, maintain optionality, focus on people, improve the quality of the portfolio, and further lower costs.

"The focus on costs is certainly going to stay," he said.

He said he was pleased that his goals and expectations were strongly aligned with the board's.

One of AngloGold's most important growth projects is the Obuasi redevelopment in Ghana, which Dushnisky visited last week.

The $450-500 million project should pour first gold next year and ramp up to 350,000-450,000 ounces of gold per annum at all-in sustaining costs of $750-850 an ounce.

In June, the Ghanaian government ratified the regulatory and fiscal agreements covering the redevelopment.

Dushnisky said he met with the government last week and of all the meetings in his career, rated it in the top 5-10%.

On the company's troubled South African operations, Dushnisky said he was confident they would be free cashflow positive by the end of the year.

It comes after AngloGold signed a three-year wage agreement with South African employees last week.