Delivery of first gold at the Salares Norte Project

Gold Fields has announced that its Salares Norte Project(Salares Norte or the Project) has commenced production with the delivery of first gold on Thursday, 28 March 2024. This represents a significant milestone for the Salares Norte Project which Gold Fields is proud to have taken from discovery, through exploration and development to production over the past 13 years.

Mike Fraser, CEO of Gold Fields said, “We are incredibly excited to have reached this milestone and delivered first gold in line with the updated project schedule, as we committed in December 2023. Salares Norte is a world class project with one of the industry’s lower cost profiles and a payback period of less than three years at current gold prices. It presents significant growth and value uplift for our portfolio and adds meaningfully to the cash flow profile of Gold Fields over the next few years.”

Circuit A and Circuit B of the processing plant have now been commissioned by the Project and are being handed over to the operational team. Ramp up of the Project to steady state is progressing with gold equivalent production of 250koz at an all-in cost (AIC) of US$1,790/eq oz – US$1,850/eq oz expected for 2024. Production volumes for 2025 are expected to be 580koz.

Average gold equivalent production for the first five full years of mine life (2025 – 2029) is expected to be 485koz per annum at an AIC of US$790/eq oz (in 2024 money), while gold equivalent ounces produced over the life of mine (2025 – 2033) is expected to be 360koz per annum at an AIC of US$820/eq oz (in 2024 money).

The Project total capital cost remains in line with the guidance provided in February 2024 at US$1,180m – US$1,200m.