JOHANNESBURG, May 29, 2014 /CNW/ - Gold Fields Limited (Gold
Fields) (JSE, NYSE, NASDAQ Dubai: GFI) hereby advises that, further
to the announcement issued on Tuesday, 27
May 2014, regarding the two recent fatal accidents at South
Deep in South Africa, the
Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on Tuesday evening completed
an in-loco inspection of the scene of the second accident on the
mine.
Following the inspection the DMR issued a Section 54 order,
placing a moratorium on all workshop-related activities across the
mine, pending the completion of a report back to the DMR in terms
of Section 11(5) of the Mines Health and Safety Act. This has
effectively stopped all production on the mine.
Management is working closely with the DMR to identify and
mitigate the causes of the accidents and to ultimately have the
Section 54 order lifted.
It is estimated that, as a consequence of the Section 54 imposed
on the mine due to the two fatal accidents, there will be a
deferral of approximately 300 kilograms (9,645 ounces) of gold
production by the end of this week. It is estimated that a further
200 kilograms (6,430 ounces) will be deferred due to the
reassessing of working practices in all workshops and safety
control systems on the mechanised mining fleet, in order to improve
safety at South Deep.
The new management team, appointed at the beginning of this
year, has concluded a comprehensive review of all safety protocols,
procedures and standards across the mine. This is in line with the
team's mandate to improve the mechanised mining culture on the
mine, with specific emphasis on introducing international best
practice standards on equipment availability and utilisation as
well as the mechanised mining skills of employees.
The safety review has indicated that approximately 1,000 meters
of legacy ground support in some of the ramps serving production
areas in the older part of the mine, are below the international
best practice standards at our international mines and present a
safety risk. At this stage of the build-up process,
approximately 70% of the mine's production comes from these older
areas of the mine above 95-level.
Nick Holland, CEO of Gold Fields,
said: "After personally inspecting the affected areas, and after
consultations with the new mine management team as well as the Gold
Fields Board, I have concluded that it would be unsafe to continue
working in these areas without remediation. As a consequence it has
been decided to immediately stop production and de-stress
activities in these areas and to start with remedial work."
"A safe working environment on all of our mines is our first
priority and, in line with our first value - 'If we cannot mine
safely we will not mine' - this was the right decision to make. We
are now paying the price for the skills deficit at South Deep,
which contributed to this outcome. In addressing these issues we
will not only ensure the safety of our people, but also the
long-term integrity and sustainability of the mine," he added.
The remediation will take approximately four months to complete
(June to September). The impact on production for this year is
expected to be a deferral of approximately 1,500 kilograms (48,225
ounces).
Despite the production declines at South Deep, the Group's
production guidance of 2.2 million attributable ounces for 2014 is
maintained, based on the current and anticipated outperformance of
Cerro Corona, Granny Smith and
Tarkwa relative to guidance.
At this stage it is not expected that the stoppages will require
a re-assessment of South Deep's build-up plan to full production of
between 650,000 ounces and 700,000 ounces per year by the end of
2017, as previously advised.
"However, we cannot at this point in time guarantee that there
will not be other issues identified by the new management team,
which may further impact guidance for the year," said Holland.
He added: "Central to the new management team's efforts to
rebase the mine, is the need for the introduction and enforcement
of greater levels of accountability and responsibility at all
levels in the organisation and to improve skills levels across the
board. In addition, the team has concluded that the mine has more
equipment and people than is required. Both of these are
prerequisites for an improved safety culture and improved
productivity, which are deemed critical to de-risk the mine's
build-up to full production and ensure that South Deep achieves its
full potential. Discussions have commenced with the trade unions to
agree on the way forward on these issues."
CONFERENCE CALL
A telephone conference call has been scheduled at the times
indicated below:
Johannesburg: 16:00 hours
For United
Kingdom: 15:00 hours
(GMT)
For North America:
10:00 hours, (EST)
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DIAL IN
NUMBERS
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Country
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Toll
Number
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Toll-free
Number
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Australia
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1-800-350-100
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South
Africa
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+27(0)11-535-3600
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0-800-200-648
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United
Kingdom
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0-808-162-4061
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USA &
Canada
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1-855-481-5362
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Ask for Gold Fields call
A simultaneous audio webcast will be available on our website.
The digital replay will be available one hour after the call.
Playback details are as follows:
Playback code: 31247#
(Available for seven days)
South Africa & Other:
+27-11-305-2030
USA: +1-855-481-5363
United Kingdom:
+44(0)808-234-6771
Australia:
+1-800-091-250
Notes to editors
About Gold Fields
Gold Fields Limited is an unhedged, globally diversified
producer of gold with eight operating mines in Australia, Ghana, Peru
and South Africa. In February 2013, Gold Fields unbundled its mature,
underground KDC and Beatrix mines in South Africa into an independent and
separately listed company, Sibanye Gold. In October 2013, it expanded its presence in
Western Australia by acquiring the
Granny Smith, Lawlers and Darlot mines (known as the Yilgarn South
Assets) from Barrick Gold.
Gold Fields has attributable annual gold production of
approximately 2.02 million ounces, as well as attributable Mineral
Reserves of around 49 million ounces and Mineral Resources of about
113 million ounces. Attributable copper Mineral Reserves total 708
million pounds and Mineral Resources 7,120 million pounds. Gold
Fields has a primary listing on the JSE Limited, with secondary
listings on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ Dubai
Limited, Euronext in Brussels
(NYX) and the Swiss Exchange (SWX).
Sponsor: J.P. Morgan Equities South Africa (Pty) Ltd
SOURCE Gold Fields Limited