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Gold Fields upbeat on South Deep target Posted: Tue, 01 Jul 2008 [miningmx.com] -- GOLD Fields is confident it will hit its 800,000 oz/year production target at South Deep despite developments being set back a year by a fatal accident at the mine in May, CEO Nick Holland said. Nine workers died after the cage they were riding in plunged down a shaft at the mine. "We have lost about a year," said CEO Nick Holland. He added that the company would probably reach its full development rate of 600 metres a month again by March 2009. Gold Fields is waiting to carry out its own independent safety audit after the Department of Minerals and Energy has finished an investigation of the area where the accident happened. Gold Fields still plans to have South Deep operating at a previously stated target of full production of 800,000/oz a year in the next five years, he said. From now until then the annual capital expenditure is likely to be around R1bn. In the ramp up phase, the mine is expected to produce about 200,000 ounces a year this financial year and the next. "If you look back 18 months the development ramp up has been slower than we would have liked but when we evaluated the mine the gold price was R140,000/kg and now it is R230,000/kg," said Holland. Click Here to subscribe to our daily newsletter
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