At the moment Gold Fields’ operation in Ghana are tied to three mines. The Tarkwa Mine, which is the single largest gold producer in Ghana, producing more than 500,000 ounces a year, with the life of the mine being 13 years, the Damang Mine, an open pit mine, and the Asanko Mine which is operated by Galiano Gold through a joint venture arrangement.

The re-investment according to the Acting Executive Vice President and Head of Gold Fields in West Africa, Joshua Mortoti, which will go into the company’s Damang mine, is expected to increase the life of the mine from the current 3 years to over 10 years.

“We are working on reinvestment in Damang. Damang has a short mine life of 3 years. What that means is that we have to start reinvesting this year and that’s going to be very significant.  What we are working on is potentially to extend Damang’s life by 10 years. So that’s going to be circa $500 million, which is going to go into Damang. But we first of all have to prove that we can make money in Damang to justify the investment request.”

Contribution to national development in 2022

Speaking on the company’s expected contribution to national development this year, Joshua Mortoti said Gold Fields’ expects to surpass last years’ contribution of $320 million.

A closer look at last years numbers show that, $244 million came under Corporate taxes and royalties, $48.2 million came under Dividends, while $28 million came under PAYE.

“In terms of production, we are expecting collectively for West Africa, about 800,000 ounces between Tarkwa, Damang and our joint venture in Asanko and we expect that our returns to the government will not be any less than $320 million this year.”

The media engagement saw the leadership of Gold Fields outline the progress it has made in multiple areas as well as the goals of the company in areas including Energy Security, Water Security, Safety and Health, as well as gender diversity in the medium to long-term.