Gold Fields Limited (ADR)(NYSE:GFI) South Deep mine is going to be smaller than what it was planned before for at least upcoming 3 years. Nick Holland, the CEO said that the firm focus is entirely to keep it profitable.
In 2015, the Johannesburg-based firm revised a target for South Deep down 650,000 ounces to 700,000 ounces by FY2017 after several years of technical issues. Preliminary, in the initial three to five years, it didn’t look realistic as a target, but it looked like a target that can be achieved after many years.
South Deep, Gold Fields’s only mine in its home nation of South Africa, is the globe’s second largest gold deposit in Indonesia. It makes up nearly three quarters of the firm’s reserves. The difficulty of the ore formation, its safety and operational problems and its depth, have delayed the mine in deferrals during its 25-year lifespan when it was owned by JCI Ltd., Barrick Gold Corp and Western Areas Ltd.
The year plan of 700,000-ounce is a long-term objective, but the management have said for now that they are going to revise these targets. The firm will release a 5-year plan for the asset next February.
In the last quarter, South Deep reported positive cash flow since the firm bought the businesses for nearly $3 billion in FY2006.
The commodity space
Gold Fields performance may considerably vary with the performance of gold prices. The decline in the gold price over recent week didn’t come as surprise. It has matched with the rise in the U.S. dollar. As always, when unsure as to what is leading the gold prices, the first thing investors should check is the U.S. dollar.
Gold’s price decline in the last month is the direct outcome of the sharp rise in the dollar. As the greenback has quickly increased in its relative value, the gold price has declined in dollar terms. When the dollar value declines due to national insecurity, economic trouble or inflation, gold increases in value.
