Gold Fields falls over 10% after cutting production volumes, personnel issues

Earlier on Thursdsay, global gold producer Gold Fields Limited (GFI) announced an update to production of first gold from its Salares Norte Project in Chile, which has been impacted by delays in pre-commissioning and commissioning activities. First gold from the Project is now expected by April 2024 and production volumes for 2024 have been revised down and are expected to fall within a range of 220,000 – 250,000 gold-equivalent ounces. Monthly steady state production is expected to be reached by the beginning of 2025 and therefore planned production volumes for 2025 and 2026 are not expected to be affected and remain unchanged at 600,000 gold-equivalent ounces each year….Gold Fields had anticipated first gold from the project in Chile’s Atacama region by December 2023, but this has had to be pushed out due to a number of factors including: Recent delays to the pre-commissioning process due to rework required on critical safety aspects relating to the cyanide circuit and other reagent circuits. This has had a knock-on effect on the pre-commissioning and commissioning processes. Personnel availability for the primary contractor at the project.Shares of Gold Fields are down $1.65 per share in late day trading to $14.50 per share. Other mining companies in Chile include: Anglo American (NGLOY), Antofagasta (ANFGF), Teck Resources (TECK), Barrick Gold (GOLD), and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX).