Gold Fields sees smooth pathway for Windfall project
APART from having to manage and co-exist with caribou on the Windfall property in Quebec, Gold Fields does not anticipate encountering the same environmental hurdles in developing the mine as with Salares Norte in Chile, CEO Mike Fraser said.Since Gold Fields started development at Salares Norte, progress has been halted a couple of times so that it could capture and relocate the endangered animals.Last year the ramp-up was also delayed by a particularly severe winter, which caused material to freeze in the primary circuit.Fraser was commenting after the release of Gold Fields’s results for the 2024 financial year, ended December in which it reported 10% lower attributable gold production of 2.07 million ounces. In the second half, output was 26% higher with improvements at South Deep in South Africa and Australia’s St Ives.Like other miners, Gold Fields benefited from a substantially higher realised gold price which averaged $2,418/oz last year compared to $1,942/oz in 2023.It declared a 700 South African cents per share final dividend, taking the full-year dividend to R10/share – a 34% increase. At a high gold price environment, investors expected him to balance investment in the business with returns, said Fraser.Gold Fields has been streamlining its portfolio with acquisitions and disposals. In 2024, it sold its interests in Asanko Gold Mine, Rusoro Mining, and the Far Southeast project in the Philippines. It bought the remaining shares in Osisko Mining that it did not already hold, giving it 100% ownership of the Windfall project.Windfall is expected to cost about C$1.1bn to develop and add 300,000 oz/year to the group. Gold Fields is currently seeking environmental approvals, expected in the second half of this year. A final investment decision will be taken in the first quarter of 2026.An Impact Benefit Agreement is under discussion with the Cree First Nation which will govern how the benefits of the mine are shared, said Fraser. The Cree already have a number of such agreements in place with other mining companies, he added.Salares NorteAt Salares Norte, steady state on a monthly basis should be reached by the fourth quarter of this year.Asked if severe winters would be an issue for the mine every year, Fraser said it was designed to be a year-round operation.Gold Fields vice-president of corporate affairs Sven Lunsche said that as the freezing of the pipes occurred during ramp up, the plant was more vulnerable. Now the mine is further along its development pathway, it will be in a better position to withstand extremely cold weather.As a result of its recent acquisitions and development projects, Gold Fields’ net debt, excluding lease liabilities, has trebled to $1.6bn from $588m in 2023, representing a net debt: adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.73. Gold Fields was comfortable with a ratio of up to one through the cycle, said Fraser.Its cash generation was sufficient to service the current debt and the development projects under way will rapidly start to generate more cash.A gold streaming deal aimed at reducing debt (such as the one Sibanye-Stillwater recently concluded with Franco Nevada) would be low on its list as “we believe it is quite expensive,” Fraser said.The post Gold Fields sees smooth pathway for Windfall project appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com
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