Gold Fields aims to increase production by a fifth over the next two years as a major project in Chile finally gets underway and the company's last asset in South Africa ramps up production.
Salales Norte, a $1.2 billion open-pit mine at 4,900 meters (16,000 feet) in Chile, is on track to start producing gold in April after a series of delays, Gold Fields said on Thursday. Announced. The company said it has also improved the performance of its South Deep operations in South Africa.
The company has been diversifying away from its home base in South Africa, where producers are struggling with the challenges of extracting gold from the world's deepest mines. Output from eight active mines in gold fields from Australia and Ghana to Peru fell slightly last year to 2.3 million ounces.
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Gold Fields fell as much as 6.8% in Johannesburg trading after its 2023 profit of $703.3 million was below the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Still, the company's stock has risen 56% since November 2022, when it called off its acquisition of Yamana Gold, crippling its expansion plans in the Americas.
Mike Fraser, who took over as chief executive last month, said in an interview that the mining company would only consider “smaller M&A.”
The company disposed of all but one of its South African assets a decade ago, but is developing a Canadian joint venture that could begin production in 2026. The company is also seeking government permission to merge one of its mines in Ghana with an adjacent project operated by AngloGold. Ashanti.
Gold Fields is considering options for its Daman mine in Ghana, which has two years of reserves left to process. While the investment could extend the life of the asset, “that's probably not for us,” Fraser said. Last year, the company sold a stake in another mine in the West African country.
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