JOHANNESBURG, January 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Gold Fields Limited (JSE, NYSE, NASDAQ Dubai: GFI) ("Gold
Fields") and Gold One International Limited (ASX and JSE:
GDO) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a
Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") to investigate the viability of
concurrently reprocessing their combined surface tailings deposits,
located on the West Rand region of South
Africa's Witwatersrand Basin. Gold One and Gold Fields
currently operate mines on the West Rand, a region with a long
history of gold and uranium mining.
In terms of the MOU, Gold Fields and Gold One (collectively, the
"parties") will jointly investigate the feasibility of establishing
a Joint Venture into which both parties will contribute surface
assets for retreatment. These assets are expected to comprise
in excess of 700 million tonnes and represent over 60% of the total
tailings material in the region. The parties aim to complete
a detailed scoping study by the middle of this year, following
which a decision will be taken on whether to progress the study to
a feasibility level.
Should the Joint Venture proceed, the intention is to reclaim
and retreat the historical tailings material and current tailings
to recover residual gold, uranium and sulphur. A key
objective of the project will be to address the re-deposition of
the residues in accordance with modern sustainable deposition
practices, ultimately supporting mine closure in an environmentally
sustainable manner.
In 2010, Gold Fields completed extensive economic studies on its
Tailings Treatment Project ("TTP"), which is a low-grade gold and
uranium recovery project focusing on the existing tailings storage
facilities and the current underground mining horizons of Gold
Fields' West Rand operations, KloofDriefontein Complex ("KDC") and
South Deep. As at December
2010, Gold Fields declared a mineral resource of 475.6
million tonnes at its tailings storage facilities, which includes
gold mineral resources of 4.5 million ounces and uranium mineral
resources of 53.6 million pounds.
Gold One advised Gold Fields that on 9
January, 2012, it completed the acquisition of Rand Uranium
(Pty) Limited ("Rand Uranium"). Furthermore, as part of the
Rand Uranium transaction, Gold One established the Randfontein
Surface Operations, which are currently processing approximately
300,000 tonnes of tailings material per month through the Cooke
Gold Plant. Gold One also advised that it had commenced with
a review of its Cooke Uranium Project.
Rand Uranium had earlier completed a comprehensive definitive
feasibility study on the processing of the Cooke Tailings Deposit
for the extraction of both gold and uranium (including 70% of
detailed and already completed engineering design). The
primary focus of the feasibility study is the construction of a
uranium metallurgical plant to treat the Cooke Tailings Deposit.
In addition, during the December
2011 quarter, Gold One stated that it commenced assessing
the potential treatment of several other surface tailings deposits
that exist on the mining and prospecting licenses acquired from
Rand Uranium.
The combined consideration of the Gold One, Rand Uranium and
Gold Fields studies, as well as the possibility of utilising
existing and planned metallurgical plant infrastructure, will allow
the companies to significantly fast-track a joint economic
assessment of the reprocessing of the combined tailings
deposits.
Gold One President and Chief
Executive Officer Neal Froneman
comments: "I am excited about the opportunity of forging a
strategic relationship with Gold Fields. Economic recovery of
gold and uranium from historical tailings deposits has been
successfully demonstrated in other districts of the Witwatersrand
Goldfields. The combination of our extensive technical
studies and the quality of assets that would be pooled into the
partnership presents an exciting prospect for the Joint Venture and
growth of Gold One's surface business. Importantly, the
economically sustainable retreatment of the existing tailings
deposits will also have a positive environmental impact, benefiting
all stakeholders in the district in which we operate."
Gold Fields Chief Executive Officer Nick
Holland comments: "This is an exciting opportunity to
investigate the feasibility of extracting value from our
substantial surface resources on the West Rand. Gold Fields already
has projects in place to retreat our tailings and the MOU with Gold
One allows us to further explore a relatively low risk opportunity
to extract value from Gold Fields' surface resources that is not
inherent in our share price."
Notes to editors
About Gold Fields
Gold Fields is one of the world's largest unhedged producers of
gold with attributable annualised production of 3.5 million gold
equivalent ounces from eight operating mines in Australia, Ghana, Peru
and South Africa. Gold Fields also
has an extensive and diverse global growth pipeline with four major
projects in resource development and feasibility, with construction
decisions expected in the next 18 to 24 months. Gold Fields
has total attributable gold equivalent Mineral Reserves of 76.7
million ounces and Mineral Resources of 225.4 million ounces. Gold
Fields is listed on the JSE Limited (primary listing), the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ Dubai Limited, Euronext in
Brussels (NYX) and the Swiss
Exchange (SWX).
Sponsor: J.P. Morgan Equities
Limited
Gold Fields Limited
Reg. 1968/004880/06
150 Helen Road,
Sandown, Sandton,
2196
Postnet Suite 252
Private Bag X30500
Houghton, 2041
South Africa
Tel +27-11-562-9700
Fax +27-11-562-9838
http://www.goldfields.co.za
Enquiries
Investor Enquiries
Zakira Amra
Tel +27-11-562-9775
Mobile +27-79-694-0267
Email Zakira.Amra@goldfields.co.za
Willie Jacobsz
Tel +1-508-839-1188
Mobile +1-857-241-7127
Email Willie.Jacobsz@gfexpl.com
Media Enquiries
Sven Lunsche
Tel +27-11-562-9763
Mobile +27-83-260-9279
Email Sven.Lunsche@goldfields.co.za
SOURCE Gold Fields Limited