Gold Fields slashes annual output target

Gold Fields, opens new tab lowered its annual output forecast for the second time this year after unusually harsh winter conditions hobbled a planned output ramp up at a new mine in Chile.

The Johannesburg-based gold miner’s initial targets to raise output at the Salares Norte mine in Chile had been “ambitious” after the early and harsh winter conditions resulted in some pipes at its processing plant freezing, CEO Mike Fraser said on Friday.

He added that the icy weather conditions were seasonally unusual and the company lost two months in production time at the mine located in the Atacama region in northern Chile.

“The massive lesson here is attempting a ramp up during winter was the wrong thing,” Fraser said.

Gold Fields said its 2024 output is now forecast to be about 7% lower to between two  million ounces and 2.15 million ounces. The revised output forecast would be its lowest since 2013 when it sold some of its South African mines to Sibanye Stillwater.

This is also the second time this year that Gold Fields has revised its production forecast after initially targeting 2.43 million ounces of gold. The miner’s shares were down 5.66% in early trade in Johannesburg.

The South African company has shifted focus away from its home country to more lucrative deposits in Ghana, Australia and the Americas region. Earlier this month, Gold Fields agreed to buy Canadian miner Osisko (OSK.TO), opens new tab for about US$1.57 billion.