Nick Holland has hope for South Deep
Gold Fields boss warns of job cuts, says the mechanised mine will make profit
Consolidation cannot save SA's gold sector and job cuts are likely to continue, says Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland.
Holland, whose company has been linked to a possible merger with larger rival AngloGold Ashanti, told Business Times: "There might be some local gold assets that can be moved around, but I think consolidation in the South African industry has largely happened."
With a 132-year history in SA, Gold Fields is one of the few remaining pure gold miners at a time when companies like Sibanye-Stillwater are working to offset gold losses with revenues from platinum operations.
Holland has long held the view that consolidation is good for deriving synergies in the local sector.
Six years ago, Gold Fields unbundled its labour-intensive operations — Kloof, Driefontein and Beatrix mines — into Sibanye, which this week said it was cutting 6,670 jobs to curb losses.
Reflecting on that deal, Holland said: "There's not too much left to happen in SA. I think it's more globally where the opportunities lie."
Ian Cruickshanks, an independent analyst, thinks it's better to have two major gold miners in the country for competition. AngloGold has said it wants to cut ties with SA and a merger would go against that intention...
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