Annual results from Gold Fields will be heavily skewed by a chunky impairment against its sole South African mine, South Deep, an asset analysts labelled a "disappointment". Shares in Gold Fields closed 4.3% lower, giving the mining company a capitalisation of R39bn and extending the year-to-date decline to 11.5%. Gold Fields, headed by Nick Holland, said its basic loss per share, which reflects once-off events, was forecast between $0.02 and $0.05 per share for the 12 months to end-December, compared to earnings of $0.2 per share the year before. Headline earnings, excluding once-off items, were forecast to be in a range of $0.23-$0.26 per share compared to $0.26 per share before. Gold Fields said it would show a $278m, or R3.5bn, impairment against its South Deep mine, with which it has struggled for years, investing R29bn in the project. The impairment was due to a difficult first year of a fresh five-year plan to tackle the deep-level, massive ore body, leading to a slower than ...
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