By William Clowes.
Gold Fields said it won’t “just roll over” in negotiations with Ghana’s government to extend leases for one of the company’s biggest mines.
The Johannesburg-listed company is locked in talks with the West African nation about renewing mining rights for Tarkwa, which until recently was its largest gold operation. Bloomberg News previously reported that Ghana’s government is considering transferring control of the mine to local parties when the leases expire in April.
While Tarkwa’s future represents “a material uncertainty for our shareholders,” Gold Fields can’t walk away after making significant investments in the asset, Chief Executive Officer Mike Fraser said in an interview on Tuesday. The company is hopeful that it can continue the “constructive dialogue” and get a “sensible response,” he added.
“What we’re certainly not going to do is just roll over on Tarkwa,” Fraser said. “We will do whatever is required, including under law, to protect the rights that we have available to our shareholders.”
The negotiations in Ghana proceed as Gold Fields more than doubled its first-half dividend after profit jumped 81% on higher gold output and prices. The company’s shares edged higher in Johannesburg trading.
Gold Fields said it’s increasing the interim payout to R16.25 ($1.01) per share, up from R7 rand a year earlier, after first-half profit soared to $1.85 billion. Gold output from mines across Africa, Australia and South America climbed 12% to 1.27 million ounces, driving “a step-change in financial performance,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company announced it plans to return a further $500 million to shareholders, bringing the program it announced in November to $1.25 billion. The initiative could be expanded “if the business is performing and gold markets are supportive,” Fraser said.
The average price received by Gold Fields in the six months through June climbed 51% to $4 678 an ounce, compared with the same period in 2025.
Salares Norte in Chile, which was commissioned in 2024, has become the company’s largest operation, producing 294,000 ounces of gold in the first half.
In terms of “what drives cash-flow per share,” that mine was “by far the most significant contributor in the portfolio for the last six months,” Fraser said.
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