SUSTAINABILITY 
Environmental Compliance Mine Closure Management Waste and Effluents
Gold Fields is committed to responsible stewardship of natural resources and the environment for present and future generations. We aim to operate in an innovative manner that minimises or mitigates adverse impacts and maximises positive impacts of an environmental and socio-economic nature.
Our approach to environmental stewardship is guided by the precautionary approach and informed by several external standards as well as local legislation, supported by internal policies and priorities. Additional local priorities are identified through stakeholder consultation. We have established, implemented, integrate and maintain internationally recognised and externally certified environmental management systems (EMSs). These ensure consideration of environmental issues in business strategies and initiatives, a framework for setting environmental objectives, continual improvement of the environmental management system and environmental performance and prevention of pollution. Each of the Group's operations are certified to ISO 14001(2015), including our newest operation, Gruyere, which started production in mid-2019. All of our eligible operations are fully compliant with the International Cyanide Management Code. Gold Fields does not use mercury for the beneficiation of gold or in any of its processes.
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Regulatory requirements, and obligations relating to industry rules, codes and standards to which we subscribe, that relate to our environmental aspects and impacts including:
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Internally, Gold Fields has implemented policy statements and five Group-level guidelines, which reflect our environmental priorities. These concern energy and carbon management, water management, tailings management, biodiversity and integrated mine closure. A summary of the Group guidelines can be found on the Gold Fields website at www.goldfields.com>sustainability.These guidelines set out the systems and processes necessary to ensure the application of consistently good environmental management practices across the Group while allowing a degree of adaptation to local circumstances.
Accountability for implementing our Group Policy Statement: Environment, and associated guidelines lies with the General Manager and / or VP Operations in control of the site, with guidance and support from the Sustainable Development team.
Gold Fields track regulatory changes which enables the operations to respond (externally to the Regulator and internally regarding the control environment) to the changes. In addition, it also allows for the consideration of applicable/ existing controls in order to manage control effectiveness.
We continue to evaluate performance through internal assessment processes, such as environmental management system audits, in which opportunities for improvement are identified and implemented. This is complimented through internal audit reviews of key aspects of environmental management such as waste management. Our material non-financial disclosures are assured independently on an annual basis.
Results of our performance are reported through disclosures such as the TCFD, CDP:Water report, as well as through ESG assessments such as DJSI. These assessments and outcomes are publically available.
Gold Fields requires consideration of sustainability aspects in Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) which are conducted on all new projects. Environmental Management Programmes (EMPs) are then developed after the EIA has been approved stating how the project will comply with the conditions of the environmental authorisation. Gold Fields have developed standards for investment projects for Concept, PreFeasibility and Feasibility Studies, which include sustainability requirements for environmental and water stewardship, climate and energy, mine closure, tailings management, social and community.
Gold Fields has a strong commitment to biodiversity and protected areas. We are aligned with the ICMM Position Statement for Mining and Protected Areas. Our commitment is contained in the Environmental Policy and supported through our Mine Closure Guideline and Biodiversity Guideline.
Environmental Incidents
Gold Fields reports environmental incidents using a level 1 (most minor) to 5 (most severe) scale. Level 3 and above environmental incidents are reported externally, through our Integrated Annual Report.
No Level 3 – 5 incidents remains a key environmental target included in our Group Environmental Policy Statement, and our mines have been making good progress with a renewed focus on environmental management, as well as greater integration of these issues into operational management and community engagement. A clear benefit of achieving zero Level 3 – 5 incidents is improved relations with those communities adjacent to our operations.
| Level | Description | Impact |
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| Levels 1 and 2 | Minor incidents or non-conformances | Negligible or short-term limited impact. |
| Level 3 | Limited non-conformance or non-compliance | Ongoing but limited environmental impact. |
| Level 4 and 5 | Major non-conformances or non-compliances | Long-term environmental harm, with operation-threatening implications |
Our Group Sustainable Development Manager is the responsible Group lead for environmental stewardship, with all regions and operations having environmental managers and teams to support this function.
Our Group Biodiversity Guideline, updated in 2019, ensures that we address potentially adverse impacts on biodiversity on our mine properties through the application of mitigation measures and integrated land management practices. Our guideline is applicable to all Gold Fields managed exploration and operations. This includes land and land impacted by Gold Fields’ activities, and encompasses all phases of the mining life cycle.
We commit to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, and specifically:
As members of the ICMM we are committed to abiding by the ICMM’s 10 principles and their associated Performance Expectations. ICMM’s Principle 7 requires that members contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and integrated approaches to land-use planning.
Our Gold Fields Biodiversity Guideline has the following management principles:
Our Group Biodiversity Guideline is applicable to all Gold Fields managed exploration and operations. This includes land and land impacted by Gold Fields’ activities and encompasses all phases of the mining life cycle. Our scope of the no net loss commitment is company wide scope and is applicable to new Projects and major expansions. Through our Group Policy Statement: Environment, our commitment to protection and enhancement of biodiversity end ecosystems is applicable to everyone working for, on behalf of, and third parties to Gold Fields. Accountability for implementing our Group Biodiversity Guideline lies with the General Manager and / or VP Operations in control of the site, with guidance and support from the Sustainable Development team.
During the 2021 reporting year, we did not identify any significant direct impacts (measured) on biodiversity resulting from our operations’ activities. In some instances, this is attributable to application of the mitigation hierarchy and other environmental management mitigation and management efforts. We continue to report on the status of our biodiversity protection efforts of the short-tailed chinchilla at our Salares Norte Project and mine construction.
Water and waste are proactively managed to reduce potential environmental and socio-economic impacts and realise potential opportunities at all eight of our managed operations.
We commit to sustainable use of resources, responsible management of waste streams and effectively manage water, and apply strong and transparent water governance to achieve responsible and sustainable water use in a collaborative manner.
The most significant waste materials produced by our operations are tailings, waste rock, chemical waste and hydrocarbon waste. By carefully managing our waste generated by our operations and consequent TSFs, we minimise the environmental and potential social impact.
We manage waste in accordance with a waste management hierarchy through which we aim to prevent or reduce waste generation. Where we do generate waste, we aim to reuse, recycle or treat waste prior to disposal.
Gold Fields does not import, export or transport any waste deemed hazardous under the terms of the Basel Convention Annex I, II, III, and VIII.
Integrated Mine Closure and Rehabilitation
Sustainable and integrated mine closure remains one of Gold Fields’ five key sustainability focus areas. Through the careful planning of mine closure and progressive rehabilitation, we are able to
Our mine closure is guided and informed the external standards, guides and codes we have adopted, our internal policies and guidelines and commitments as well as the industrial forums we participate in.
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Our closure liability estimates are managed in accordance with:
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All Gold Fields operations have Mine Closure Plans that are regularly updated with independent experts supporting the updates. An important component of our Mine Closure Plans is Stakeholder Engagement.
All operations have also determined their closure liability for disturbance or liabilities ‘to date’ in line with international financial reporting standards. These liabilities are reviewed and revised annually and are independently assessed. Gold Fields report their closure liability publically, and identify reasons for material changes on an annual basis. We utilise the Nevada Standardised Reclamation Cost Estimator (SRCE) tool for all operations’ closure liability estimates.
Our Mine Closure Plans and Closure Liability estimates are guided through the Group Mine Closure Management Guideline and Group Closure Cost Estimate Guidance. As we aim to integrate mine closure planning through our business, and optimise our liabilities through progressive closure and rehabilitation, we have set ourselves targets through our Regional scorecards which are assessed on an annual basis (as a minimum). Our Group Sustainable Development Manager is the responsible Group lead for mine closure, with all regions and operations having an environmental and mine closure lead.
