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Johannesburg - Bullion producer Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] on Thursday said its Damang mine in Ghana had swung back to profit and was now expected to make a "significant" contribution to the group's bottom line.
"This mine has now been restored to sustainable profitability and is expected to make a meaningful contribution to the group's strategy of generating cash flow for at least the next five years, and likely well beyond that," Gold Fields said in its first quarter results.
Gold Fields chief executive Nick Holland had said last year that Damang could be put up for sale and that nearly half of the gold production in Ghana was "under stress" because of falling prices.
The turnaround will likely be regarded favourably by investors and in Ghana's capital of Accra.
Building on an increase in production in the previous quarter, output from the mine rose 3% to 46 700 ounces while its costs fell 12% to $1 111 an ounce.
Spot gold is currently around $1 290 an ounce.
Overall, South Africa's second-largest gold producer by market value reported a fall in its first quarter earnings because of lower prices, with its normalised earnings falling to $21m in the three months to the end of March from $68m in the same period last year.
"This mine has now been restored to sustainable profitability and is expected to make a meaningful contribution to the group's strategy of generating cash flow for at least the next five years, and likely well beyond that," Gold Fields said in its first quarter results.
Gold Fields chief executive Nick Holland had said last year that Damang could be put up for sale and that nearly half of the gold production in Ghana was "under stress" because of falling prices.
The turnaround will likely be regarded favourably by investors and in Ghana's capital of Accra.
Building on an increase in production in the previous quarter, output from the mine rose 3% to 46 700 ounces while its costs fell 12% to $1 111 an ounce.
Spot gold is currently around $1 290 an ounce.
Overall, South Africa's second-largest gold producer by market value reported a fall in its first quarter earnings because of lower prices, with its normalised earnings falling to $21m in the three months to the end of March from $68m in the same period last year.
