Mining: Gold Fields going strong

Improved production and good cost control as well as progress made in various projects at Gold Fields would make a difference to the future profile of the gold producing company.

“We are well placed to restoring Gold Fields’ production closer to historical levels and in particular, to achieving a run rate of one-million ounces per quarter in the near term.

“The rehabilitation of the steel infrastructure at the Kloof Main Shaft as well as the expansion of the Tarkwa Carbon In Leach plant have been substantially completed and are on track to full production build-up by early January 2009,” the company’s CEO Nick Holland said in a statement on Tuesday.

Gold Fields had updated its operational guidance for the second quarter of 2009, Holland said.

“Group attributable production for Q2 F2009 is expected to be approximately 840 000 ounces, which is in line with the guidance published on 29 October 2008.”

Group cash costs and Notional Cash Expenditure (operating costs and capital expenditure) were expected to be lower than the guidance published on October 29 2008 “due to favourable exchange rate movements against the rand and the Australian dollar relative to those provided in the guidance,” the company said.

Gold Fields is one of the world’s largest unhedged producers of gold with attributable production of 3.64-million ounces per annum from eight operating mines in South Africa, Ghana and Australia.

A ninth mine, Cerro Corona Gold/Copper mine in Peru, commenced production in August 2008 at an initial rate of approximately 375 000 gold equivalent ounces per annum.

Gold Fields aims to reach a production rate of approximately 4.0-million ounces per annum during the March quarter of 2009.

The company has total attributable ore reserves of 83-million ounces and mineral resources of 251-million ounces.

Source: iafrica