• OPERATIONS
Pexels | Matheus Natan
GOLD FIELDS SHINES ON THE GLOBAL STAGE
By Sharyn Macnamara
Gold Fields was praised at the Investing in African Mining Indaba for its production performance , ESG achievements and solar plant initiative at South Deep in South Africa in particular in 2022 . The company has set itself apart from its peers on the global stage too , despite the Yamana1 setback last year .
In an exclusive interview with Sharyn Macnamara of African Mining in February at the Mining Indaba earlier this year , Martin Preece , who has stepped in as interim CEO at Gold Fields after the resignation of Chris Griffith in December 2022 , was optimistic about the year ahead . “ From a price perspective , the market is very positive at the moment . Looking to the future – and of course there are many different views – if the price holds out for us , our business is wellpositioned for long-term , sustainable growth . Our primary focus , at this stage , is on gold which our shareholders have indicated a preference for .”
Preece took Macnamara through the three pillars of the company strategy : One – asset optimisation , through people and innovation ; two – building on a leading ESG position ; and three – growing the value and quality in the company ’ s asset portfolio globally .
All that glistens , in this case , is gold On 23 February this year , Gold Fields Limited announced the group ’ s financial results for the year ended 31 December 2022 , and it is no wonder that Preece was glowing with positivity at the time of the interview , although unable to talk numbers then . He said at the official announcement of the results , “ Gold Fields remains in a strong position , with high-quality near-term production growth that sets us apart from our global peers .” Setting out the company ’ s focus for the year ahead he noted , “ We have a disciplined capital allocation framework , focusing on maintaining a strong balance
14 • African Mining • May 2023
Supplied Gold Fields
Martin Preece , interim CEO at Gold Fields .
sheet ; returning cash to shareholders ; investing in our business ; and seeking appropriate value accretive external opportunities .”
The company is one of the few global gold producers to have exceeded the upper end of its 2022 guidance , which remained unchanged throughout the year . 2 Attributable gold equivalent production for 2022 was 2,399koz , a 3 % increase YoY ( FY2021 : 2,340koz ), exceeding the guidance range of 2,310koz-2,360koz . “ Our balance sheet remains healthy and has been bolstered by the Yamana break fee , providing us with increased flexibility ,” added Preece . www . africanmining . co . za