Gold Fields considers listing on the Stock Exchange

Gold Fields Ghana Limited says it is considering listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange to deepen its operations in the country's mining industry.

The move is yet to be concluded, but is expected to excite the local bourse and the general business community as well as the capital market operators.

"We are having that strategic discussion so see how we can go on to the stock exchange, we have engaged some partners and we are doing that work as we speak," said Mr. Alfred Baku, Executive Vice President of Gold Fields’ West Africa Operations. 

Mr. Baku, who was unable to provide time lines for the proposed listing on the local bourse, explained: "It is difficult to give time-lines because it’s a major thing to be on the stock exchange; what it means is that we’re are going to run our business as a separate entity from the Gold Fields Group, and there's going to be a lot of processes".

The mining giant is currently engaging some private partners to oversee a successful transaction.

Mr. Baku said: "We are using the bullion; they are Ghanaians who just arrived from the UK".

Gold Fields Ghana is a leading mining company in the country, a significant contributor to the nation’s tax revenue, and an industry leader in social economic development. 

The company is part of Gold Fields Limited (GFL), which has a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange (‘NYSE’), NASDAQ Dubai Limited, Euronext in Brussels (‘NYX’) and the Swiss Exchange (‘SWX’). 

It has two operating mines in Ghana -- the Tarkwa and Damang Gold Mines, each of which is 90%-owned by GFL and 10% by the government of Ghana. 

For its adherence to good corporate governance and contribution to national development, GFG has won several awards, notable among which is included: Platinum Award for Investment Promotion (2014), awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Best CSR Policy Africa (2014), awarded by New Economy; Outstanding Responsible Mining (2014), Awarded by Electra Mining West Africa.

 

It has again won the Best Taxpayer in Ghana (2012) awarded by Ghana Revenue Authority; Top Company in the Petroleum and Mining Services Sector (2012), awarded by Ghana Investment Promotion Centre; and the Number 2 Company in the Ghana Club 100 (2012), conferred by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.

Foundation

Being the first mining company in Ghana to establish a Foundation (the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation), GFG set the pace for the mining industry -- investing over 75million Ghana cedis (GHS) in community development, in the areas of education, health, agriculture and agribusiness, water and sanitation, and infrastructure. 

About a third of this community investment goes into education, specifically the provision of scholarships, bursaries, educational infrastructure, teaching aids, and teacher incentive programmes. In 2014, one of the company’s model schools, the Nana Amoakwa Model School, placed 1^st out of 97 schools in the Prestea Huni Valley district.  

Sports development

GFG has over the years spent over GH₵44million in supporting and developing sports in Ghana. 

Beyond the much-publicised sponsorship of the Black Stars for two World Cup tournaments in 2006 and 2010, and an African Cup of National Tournament in 2008, GFG has also been heavily involved in promotion golf in Ghana. 

The company was recently recognised for its enormous contribution to the development of golf at the second edition of the Ghana Golf Awards.

Growth strategy

GFG has a resilient growth strategy which hinges on 4 key pillars:Financial sustainability -- to generate returns for investors and government, and also fulfil other corporate social obligations. 

Business optimisation -- deriving maximum efficiency from existing assets, while pursuing brownfield/near mine exploration.

 Investment in people -- training and development. Social Licence to operate -- creating and sustaining shared value, while improving stakeholder relations. 

 

Within the next three years GFG aims to have sustainable operations that can produce at least 1 million ounces of gold per annum; at an all-in cost (AIC) of US$1,000 per ounce, and with zero lost-time injuries. 

It intends to achieve this by embedding a sustainable power strategy for its mines, primarily through a power purchase agreement, PPA, with an independent power provider, IPP, and efficient reserve power plant capacity; increasing mineable resources through a combination of near mine and brownfield exploration; and, increasing processing capacity at existing plants while reducing overall associated costs.

Also, continuously investing in training and development for staff; and generating cash by focusing on quality, not marginal, mining. Significant investment has been made to assist in building a sustainable business that delivers superior growth in shareholder value. 

These include: Capital waste stripping and development spending. Near mine/brownfields exploration. Replacement of mining fleet (eg. dump trucks,excavators,infrastructure). Increasing throughput capacity at our processing plants.Focussed staff training and development programmmes and Continuous business process re-engineering.