Poor safety start in Q1 2023
The safety of our people remains our overriding priority. Tragically, in
Q1 2023, we had a fatal incident at our Tarkwa mine in Ghana, where a
sub-contractor was killed in a workshop accident. Furthermore, two
contractors died after a vehicle accident at the Galiano Gold-managed
Asanko joint venture (JV), also in Ghana. On behalf of Gold Fields,
I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the families of those
affected and reiterate our commitment to continuously strengthening
our safety systems, standards, and behaviours.
Solid operational performance
Group attributable equivalent gold production was 577koz, largely flat
year on year (YoY) (down 4% quarter on quarter (QoQ)). Group
production remains on track to deliver the FY 2023 guidance provided
in February 2023. Group AISC for the quarter was US$1,152/oz, also
largely flat YoY and up 8% QoQ. AIC for the Group was US$1,343/oz,
2% higher YoY (up 3% QoQ) due to higher capital expenditure at the
Salares Norte project.
Net debt at the end of the quarter was US$875m, compared to
US$704m at the end of December 2022, primarily driven by the
payment of the final dividend of US$215m and a non-controlling interest
holders dividend of US$3m. The Group generated free cash flow of
US$83m in Q1 2023. The balance sheet remains in a very strong
position, with net debt to EBITDA at the end of the quarter of 0.36x,
compared to 0.29x at the end of Q4 2022.
Q1 2023 operational performance
The Australian region produced 243koz, down 6% YoY (down 12% QoQ)
at AIC of A$1,812/oz (US$1,239/oz) (up 6% YoY and up 16% QoQ) and
AISC of A$1,658/oz (US$1,134/oz) (up 3% YoY and up 19% QoQ).
South Africa reported Q1 2023 production of 88koz, 13% higher YoY (up
16% QoQ) at AIC of R751,830/kg (US$1,317/oz) (up 7% YoY and down 7%
QoQ) and AISC of R751,830/kg (US$1,317/oz) (up 12% YoY and down
1% QoQ).
Our mines in Ghana produced 193koz (including 45% of Asanko), down
8% YoY (down 3% QoQ), at AIC of US$1,193/oz (down 2% YoY and down
8% QoQ) and AISC of US$1,169/oz (down 1% YoY and down 8% QoQ).
Production at Cerro Corona in Peru was 75koz (gold equivalent), 34%
higher YoY, mainly due to lower gold and copper grades mined in the
March 2022 quarter in line with the mining plan (up 6% QoQ) at AIC of
US$853 per gold equivalent ounce (down 15% YoY and down 15% QoQ)
and AISC of US$777 per gold equivalent ounce (down 19% YoY and
down 13% QoQ).
Update on Salares Norte
The Salares Norte project continued to make positive progress during
the March quarter. Total construction progress at the end of March was
90.3% compared to 85.7% at the end of Q4 2022. The project is fully
staffed with the camp at full capacity. In addition to completing
construction, the focus at the project includes dealing with punch list
items to ensure successful commissioning. Total project progress was
90.4% as at the end of March 2023 compared to 86.7% at the end of
December 2022.
Total spend for the March quarter was US$115m, comprising of US$92m
in capital expenditure, US$10m in exploration expenditure and a
US$13m investment in working capital.
Total tonnes mined for the March quarter increased by 14% to 8.9Mt
(including 420kt of ore containing 97koz of gold) from 7.8Mt for the
December quarter (including 422kt of ore containing 79koz of gold).
As a result, there were 176koz on stockpile at the end of March.
As guided in February 2023, first production is expected during
Q4 2023, with a quick ramp-up in 2024. The project capex remains on
track to meet revised guidance of US$1,020m.
Outlook and 2023 guidance unchanged
Gold Fields remains on track to meet the original production and cost
guidance provided in February 2023. Attributable gold equivalent
production (excluding Asanko) is expected to be between 2.25Moz –
2.30Moz (2022 comparable was 2.32Moz).
AISC is expected to be between US$1,300/oz – US$1,340/oz, with AIC
expected to be US$1,480/oz – US$1,520/oz. The exchange rates used
for our 2023 guidance are: R/US$17.00 and US$/A$0.70.
Integrated reporting
At the end of March, we released a suite of reports under the umbrella
of the 2022 Integrated Annual Report (IAR). These include the IAR itself,
the Annual Financial Report (including our Governance Report), the
Mineral Resource and Reserve supplement and the Climate Change
Report, produced in line with the recommendations of the Task Force
on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). This was followed
up in early May with the 2022 Report to Stakeholders and the
GRI Content Index.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) highlights
In December 2021, we took a significant step by committing to a range of 2030 ESG targets, which we started implementing during 2022. The table below
lists our six ESG priorities, the respective 2030 targets and how we performed against these targets during 2022. As part of our market presentation, we
will highlight our progress against these priorities.

see & read more on
https://www.goldfields.com/pdf/investors/quarterly-reports/2023/ops-updated-q1-2023.pdf