JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gold Fields Limited ("Gold Fields") (NYSE, JSE, DIFX: GFI) said today that a Memorial Service would be held at the Twin Shafts complex of South Deep gold mine, near Westonaria, on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 following the tragic shaft accident on Thursday, May 1, 2008 in which nine colleagues lost their lives and the fall of ground accident that occurred on April 29 in which one colleague lost his life.
A letter, signed jointly by the South Deep management and the trade unions, has been sent to employees on the mine informing them of the Memorial Service and pointing out that Wednesday May 7, 2008 has been set aside as a Day of Mourning. The Day of Mourning will commence at the beginning of the night shift on Tuesday May 6, 2008.
In the letter, the Head of the Operations, South Deep, Stuart Allan, the Branch Chairperson of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Kanetso Matabane and the full-time representative of the United Associations of South Africa, (UASA) Pieter Nel, inform employees of their commitment to co-operate with the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) in its investigation into the shaft accident.
The DME issued a Section 54 order at 17h40 on May 1, 2008 - the day of the shaft accident - instructing that all winding operations at South Deep, Kloof and Driefontein Gold Mines be suspended pending the assessment of the integrity of the winding ropes. The suspension order was lifted on May 2, 2008 in respect of all main winders transporting men, material and rocks.
In respect of service winders and elevators, testing is continuing and is expected to be completed in the week commencing May 5, 2008, upon which the order, in respect of the service winders and elevators, is expected to be lifted. These service winders and elevators remain inoperative pending the lifting of the order.
Mining operations at Kloof and Driefontein have resumed. No mining operations will take place at South Deep until the Principal Inspector of Mines (Gauteng Region) has met with management and unions on Monday May 5, 2008 at 10h30.
Contrary to certain media reports, the Section 54 issued by the DME in respect of South Deep was fully complied with and, subsequent to the issue thereof, only essential services for emergency purposes were conducted underground at South Deep.
All underground employees at South Deep have been advised not to report for duty until the night shift of Monday, May 5, 2008.
Mine management will continue to assist the bereaved relatives.
Gold Fields Limited reiterates its commitment to assist the DME in its investigation into the tragic accident at South Deep on May 1, 2008 and to take measures to try and ensure that no harm comes to any of its employees while at work.
The names of the deceased from the South Deep shaft accident are being withheld until the bereaved families give permission for the names to be released.
About Gold Fields
Gold Fields Limited is one of the world's largest unhedged producers of gold with attributable production of more than four million ounces per annum from eight operating mines in South Africa, Ghana and Australia.
A ninth mine, the Cerro Corona Gold/Copper mine in Peru, is expected to commence production by mid 2008 at an initial rate of approximately 400,000 gold equivalent ounces per annum.
The company has total attributable ore reserves of 92 million ounces and mineral resources of 252 million ounces.
Gold Fields employs some 53,000 permanent employees across its operations and is listed on the JSE Limited South Africa (primary listing), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX). All of Gold Fields' operations are ISO14001 certified. For more information please visit the Gold Fields website at http://www.goldfields.co.za/.
