GFI Gold Fields Ltd

JOHANNESBURG, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gold Fields Limited (Gold Fields) (NYSE:GFI)(JSE:GFI) is pleased to announce that it has acquired an additional 18.27 million Western Areas Limited shares, at a price of R40-00 per share. This acquisition, completed on Wednesday, 18 May, 2006, brings Gold Fields' total stake in Western Areas to 23.27 million shares, or 15.47% of that Company's total issued share capital. Ian Cockerill, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields said: "South Deep is a very significant gold project and we are pleased to have increased our exposure to it through this purchase. We believe that there is significant potential for regional cooperation between our Kloof Gold Mine and South Deep, in particular, as it relates to the Phase Two development of that ore body, as we have stated on numerous previous occasions. We aim to play a role in achieving that cooperation." Western Areas owns 50% of the developing South Deep gold mine, adjacent to Gold Fields' Kloof Gold Mine, near Westonaria in South Africa. The other 50% of South Deep is owned by Barrick Gold of Canada. Gold Fields is one of the world's largest unhedged gold producers, with annual gold production of approximately 4.2 million ounces from mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and Venezuela, as well as a developing mine at Cerro Corona in Peru. The Company has ore reserves of 65 million ounces and mineral resources of 179 million ounces. Gold Fields has its primary listing on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange and secondary listings on the NYSE, LSE, Euronext in Paris and Brussels, and on the Swiss Exchange. All of Gold Fields' operations are ISO 14001 certified. DATASOURCE: Gold Fields Limited CONTACT: Enquiries: South Africa, Willie Jacobsz, Mobile +27-(0)82-493-1377; Nerina Bodasing, Mobile +27-(0)82-940-7505; North America, Cheryl Martin, +1-303-796-8683

Copyright