Gold Fields

Gold Fields: South African Mining   

Gold Fields is a globally diverse South African gold producer that has eight mining operations and projects in Australia, Chile, Ghana, Peru and South Africa. It produces around 2.2 million ounces of gold each year.   

The company has conducted exploration projects in Chile over the past two decades and, in 2011, discovered mineralization at its Salares del Norte project in the Atacama Region. The project involves an estimated US$1 billion investment and will have a service life of 17 years.   

In 2020, Max Combes, Country Manager of Gold Fields in Chile, explained that the company has a long-term vision for its Chilean operations and described the Salares Norte project as “the starting point of a new period in our history, in which we hope to lay the foundations to become a benchmark for Chile’s mining industry.”   

“For many years, Chile has clearly demonstrated that it is a serious country with a robust institutional framework. We therefore have a lot of confidence in the country and we are convinced that Chile will continue to be one of the main destinations for mining investment,” Mr. Combes stated in an interview with Minería Chilena.   

Gold Fields began construction of its Salares Norte operations in January 2021, with completion scheduled for the end of 2022 and the first gold production for early 2023. Once operational, the mine will process two million tons of ore per year for the production of gold doré.  

The Salares Norte project will create around 2,700 jobs during the peak construction period, while about 900 workers and contractors will be employed once the mine is up and running.