GOLD Fields, one of the world’s largest unhedged producers of gold, said yesterday it was on track to meet its second-quarter target. The miner — which has nine operating mines in SA, Ghana, Australia and Peru — said it was on track to meet its previously stated target of 840000 oz in attributable production. The company expects to reach annual production of 4-million ounces by the March quarter. However, costs were expected to be lower as a result of the exchange rate. The group said cash costs and notional cash expenditure were expected to be lower than indicated in October “due to favourable exchange rate movements against the rand and the Australian dollar”. CEO Nick Holland said the company was “pleased with the improved production and good cost control as well as the progress we are making in terms of delivering the various projects, which will make a significant difference to the future profile of Gold Fields”. Holland said the company was now “well placed” to restore its production closer to previous levels and to meet a run rate of a million ounces a quarter in the near term. The rehabilitation of the steel infrastructure at the Kloof main shaft as well as the expansion of the Tarkwa carbon-in-leach plant had been substantially completed and were on track to full production build-up by next month, he said. If the company used the rates stated in its guidance published in October of R8 to the dollar and A$1 to $0,85, group cash costs and notional cash expenditure would have been broadly in line with its guidance. Holland said in October that Gold Fields’ production would increase in the December quarter by about 5% to about 840000oz as Cerro Corona increased output. Cerro Corona, its Peruvian gold and copper mine, came on stream in August. In September, the group said there would be a reduction of about 5% in cash costs and notional cash expenditure. The cost of certain inputs such as fuel was starting to fall, which would help open-cast operations in Ghana. Gold Fields has attributable production of 3,64-million ounces a year from eight operating mines in SA , Ghana and Australia. The ninth mine, in Peru, started production with an initial rate of about 375000 gold equivalent ounces a year. The group aims to reach a production rate of about 4-million ounces a year during the March quarter. It has total attributable ore reserves of 83-million ounces and mineral resources of 251-million ounces.

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