Gold Fields has announced a cut in its forecast for the gold production to 3.3-million ounces during the year due to various reasons affecting operations.

The company cited factors like strikes, safety stoppages, fire as well as halting of its heap leach operations in Ghana as reasons for the fall in expected output level for the year. The company said that it lost 35,000oz of production to a prolonged strike at its Kloof Driefontein Complex (KDC) in South Africa. It also said that a fire accident at the Ya-Rona shaft at KDC cost another 30,000oz during the quarter till September, 2012.

Gold Fields estimates that it would suffer a loss of 145,000oz in production during the September and December quarters. The company had said in March that it expects to produce
3.5-million ounces during the year. the forecast was cut to 3.4-million ounces in June following Ya-Rona fire, Beatrix safety stoppages and temporary stopping of operations at Tarkwa heap leach due to government concerns over water management.

Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland said, "The two months of unlawful and unprotected strike action, in which about 29,000 of our employees participated, has had a significant impact on the financial viability of some of our shafts and this, coupled with continued above-inflation wage increases, sharply escalating electricity tariffs, other rising input costs and other potential imposts from the recent `SIMS' review, is increasing the risk of a significant restructuring of our South African operations in the near to medium term."

The company has a wide presence in South Africa, which is facing a wave of illegal strikes in mining and transport, social tension and there is a lack of clarity on regulatory matters.