The hopes of SA’s mining industry rest on Gold Fields’ loss-making South Deep
London/Johannesburg — Three thousand metres below the plains southwest of Johannesburg, teams of miners are toiling to revive the gold industry that underpinned the economy for generations. The South Deep mine was built to target the world’s second-biggest known body of gold-bearing ore, a deposit that could produce for the next 70 years and slow the steady decline in the country’s production. Trouble is, the mine is not making any money for owner Gold Fields. Grappling with the cost and technical challenges of working so far underground, Gold Fields has consistently missed production targets. All told, the company has spent about R30bn on the mine. CEO Nick Holland remains confident the mine can succeed. "In South Deep, we have probably one of two remaining world large ore bodies in the gold industry that are actually discovered and delineated," Holland said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Johannesburg office. "We can be around here for a long time. We do have a vested interest to m...
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