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Gold Fields to delay acquisitions, focus on existing ops

Gold Fields Ltd. is putting on hold acquisition plans for a year to focus on its existing operations and nearby prospects, Reuters reported May 30, citing CEO Nick Holland.

Holland said the company's finances might be "a little bit negative" this year before likely recovering in 2019.

In late March, the company entered into a US$202.6 million joint venture with Asanko Gold Inc. over the Asanko gold mine in Ghana as part of a plan to acquire cash generative and operative mines.

"The strategy of the company now is more focused on organic brownfields, near-mine growth, in and around where we are," the executive said during an interview at a symposium in Peru.

The company recently submitted an environmental impact assessment for its proposed Salares Norte mine in Chile and could seek a junior partner to help with an estimated US$850 million project cost.

"We want to build it, for sure ... we're just trying to figure out if we should do it on our own," Holland said, adding that construction at Salares Norte is unlikely to start until 2020.

Holland, meanwhile, warned that costs are likely to rise for the gold mining industry on the back of higher fuel prices, wages and inflation, while ore grades continue to drop.

The industry needs to seek more ways to extract ore, such as autonomous mining, he said.

Gold Fields has already deployed remotely operated or semiautonomous equipment in Australia, Ghana and South Africa, and is planning to use more of the technology going forward, Holland said.

The company is also benefiting from technological advances to extend the life of its Cerro Corona mine in Peru, through 2030 or maybe longer.