| Thu 20 Nov 2003, 8:52 | | Gold Fields To Spend A$125 Million On A New Mill A |
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Gold Fields To Spend A$125 Million On A New Mill At St Ives, Western Australia
Media Release
Gold Fields Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1968/004880/06)
Share code: GFI ISIN: ZAE000018123
("Gold Fields" or "the Company")
GOLD FIELDS TO SPEND A$125 MILLION ON A NEW MILL AT ST IVES, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Johannesburg, 20 November 2003 - Gold Fields Limited (JSE, NYSE: GFI), today
announced plans to construct a new A$125 million, 4.5 million ton per year gold
ore processing facility at its St Ives operation at Kambalda, south of
Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
The new mill will be designed to boost annual production to approximately
600,000 ounces per year and is expected to reduce plant-operating costs by
between A$4 and A$5 per ton.
With the expectation of productivity improvements and further discoveries at St
Ives, the mill will be designed for ready expansion to 7-million tons per year
throughput capacity, enabling the potential future exploitation of additional
large, lower-grade areas of the resource.
While the current St Ives reserves of 3 million ounces will provide an estimated
mine life of around 6 years, recently drilled mining inventory indicate a mine
life of 9 years.
John Munro, Head of International Operations for Gold Fields said the future for
St Ives was exciting, driven primarily by the encouraging exploration results
encountered since Gold Fields started an intensified drilling programme two
years ago, and optimisation opportunities that are now being realised.
"This investment will provide the platform for ongoing optimisation of the site,
ensuring that St Ives remains a world class gold asset", said Munro.
"This investment complements the recently announced US$159 million expansion at
the Tarkwa mine in Ghana. The commitment of some US$250 million to these two
mines underlines the potential of Gold Fields" offshore assets and the continued
drive for organic growth at a time when acquisitions offer marginal returns",
said Munro.
"We are focused on complete optimisation of the resource and the site. The aim
is to expand and simplify all operations on the mine and reduce unit costs to
ensure that the potential of the St Ives resource base can be fully exploited",
Munro said.
The decision for the new mill follows a two-year expanded exploration programme
on the core tenements, culminating in a final feasibility study that was
completed this month.
The new plant will replace the existing high unit operating cost 3.1 million ton
per year facility, which is reaching the end of its useful economic operating
life. In addition to the new plant it is currently planned to continue the
existing heap leach operations at St Ives at the current rate of 2.2 million ton
per annum.
Exploration expenditure of more than A$50 million over the past two years has
led to the discovery of more than 2 million ounces at the site. This high rate
of exploration expenditure is planned to continue for the next one to two years
to further delineate the potential of this prospective camp.
Gold Fields Vice-President and Head of Australian Operations, Steven Banning,
said the expansion and optimisation of St Ives will provide the foundation for a
sustainable employment base at Kambalda.
"Gold Fields is taking a long term view with its investment in St Ives," Banning
said.
"We expect a long prosperous life, not just for the mine but also for Kambalda
and Kalgoorlie. Both communities have gone out of their way to welcome Gold
Fields into the Australian gold mining scene and we look forward to being a
major gold contributor in the region well into the future", he added.
Gold Fields is the world"s largest unhedged gold company, with annual
attributable gold production of 4.33 million ounces and attributable Mineral
Resources of 196 million ounces and Mineral Reserves of 84 million ounces. It
has operations in South Africa, Australia and Ghana (West Africa) and gold and
platinum group metals exploration projects throughout the world. The company"s
primary listing is on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange in South Africa (GFI)
with secondary listings on the London, Euronext, Paris, Brussels, and Swiss
exchanges. The company"s American Depositary shares are listed on the New York
Stock Exchange, also under the symbol GFI.
For further information:
SOUTH AFRICA NORTH AMERICA
Willie Jacobsz Cheryl A Martin
Senior Manager Senior Vice President
Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations North American Investor Relations
Office: +27 11 644-2460 Office: +303 796-8683
Mobile: +27 82 493-1377 Fax: +303 796-8293
investors@goldfields.co.za camartin@gfexpl.com
Date: 20/11/2003 08:11:47 AM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
