Gold Fields Revises Guidance for Q3 F2010 on the Back of Safety Interventions
at Kloof Gold Mine
JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 23 /CNW/ - Gold Fields Limited (Gold Fields) (JSE, NYSE, NASDAQ Dubai: GFI) today announced that Q3 F2010 production for the Group will be approximately five percent below the previous guidance of 850,000 ounces provided on 4 February 2010. It is expected that the lower production will negatively impact cash costs and NCE on a per ounce basis.
This follows a decision to accelerate the replacement of a water pump column in the Main Shaft at the Kloof Gold Mine in South Africa, which was previously scheduled for replacement later in the year.
The decision to accelerate the replacement of the column is consistent with the Group's philosophy of "if we cannot mine safely, we will not mine", as well as the "stop, think fix, verify and continue programme", and was taken after certain sections of the column showed significant corrosion, resulting in the pre-mature failure of some of those sections.
Production is expected to return to normal levels by the end of the March Quarter (Q3 F2010), and production for the June Quarter (Q4 F2010) should be close to recent levels of production of approximately 5,000 kilograms of gold.
About Gold Fields
Gold Fields is one of the world's largest unhedged producers of gold with attributable production of 3.6 million ounces* per annum from nine operating mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and Peru. Gold Fields also has an extensive growth pipeline with both greenfields and near mine exploration projects at various stages of development. Gold Fields has total attributable Mineral Reserves of 81 million ounces and Mineral Resources of 271 million ounces. Gold Fields is listed on JSE Limited (primary listing), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), the Euronext in Brussels (NYX) and the Swiss Exchange (SWX). For more information please visit the Gold Fields website at http://www.goldfields.co.za.
* Based on the annualised run rate for the fourth quarter of F2009
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