Gold Fields has started production at its Salares Norte mine in Chile’s Atacama province with the pouring of its first gold-silver doré on 28 March.
“Salares Norte’s construction is credit to the innovation, experience, commitment, and persistence of the teams that worked on the project. To build a remote mine at 4,500m above sea level with winter temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius and amidst a global pandemic is an incredible feat,” said Gold Fields CEO Mike Fraser.
“This is a world-class project with one of the industry’s lower cost profiles and a payback period of less than three years at current gold prices. It presents significant growth and value uplift for our portfolio and adds meaningfully to the cash flow profile of Gold Fields over the next few years.”
The miner said Circuit A and Circuit B of the processing plant have now been commissioned and have been handed over to the operational team. Ramp up of the mine to steady state is progressing with gold equivalent production of 250,000 ounces at an all-in cost (AIC) of US$1,790/eq oz – $1,850/eq oz expected for 2024.
Production volumes for 2025 are expected to be 580,000 oz.
Salares Norte is a high-grade, epithermal gold-silver, open-pit deposit situated in the High Andes of northern Chile.
Source: Gold Fields