Catastrophic risks

Catastrophic risks are defined as those that could lead to disastrous events that could lead to loss of lives and injuries, severely impact our reputation and undermine the viability of our business. Every quarter, we review catastrophic risks that could potentially occur at our mines and projects to ensure the necessary controls are in place to manage these risks. Where appropriate, we introduce additional mitigating controls reviewed by subject-matter experts to further reduce the risks and safeguard our employees, communities, environment and reputation. Along with our Critical Control Management programme, we continuously look at new technology and innovation in an attempt to "engineer out" catastrophic risks.

	RISKS		MITIGATING STRATEGIES
	TSF failure Catastrophic TSF embankment failure		Our sites comply with the Group's Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) Management Policy and Tailings Management Standard, which is based on the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). Our combined assurance approach is bolstered by the annual Independent Geotechnical and Tailings Review Board reviews at Cerro Corona (Peru) and Tarkwa (Ghana) – our two TSFs with "extreme" or "very high" GISTM consequence category ratings. We are implementing the GISTM in accordance with ICMM targets. Independent parties conduct external audits on our active TSFs every three years.
	Geotechnical Significant pit wall slope or underground failure		The Geotechnical Review Board – which consists of independent and internal industry experts – continued its work at South Deep for all major projects, at the Australian underground operations when necessary, and for all pit cutbacks at our other operations in Australia, Ghana and Peru .
	Flooding Major incident causing loss of life and property damage		Gold Fields' mines are designed to consider probable precipitation and flood modelling to ensure mitigation measures are incorporated. Flooding and associated risks form part of the ICMM's Critical Control Management programme, and control measures are audited internally and verified by independent parties. Independent consultants carried out indicative climate change risks and vulnerability assessments in 2021. More comprehensive assessments were carried out at Cerro Corona and Tarkwa in 2022 to quantitively assess the physical climate change risk and support internal guidelines and standards. This work supports our efforts to conform to the GISTM.
	Transportation Major incident while transporting employees by air or bus, or hazardous material		When feasible, we avoid entire teams travelling together by dividing employees between flights. We only use reputable and accredited airline companies, and, when chartered flights are necessary, we ensure companies are accredited by civil aviation authorities. We reduce air travel and our carbon footprint through our regionalised model and technology (such as video conferencing). When we transport employees on buses, we follow a rigorous selection process to award transport contracts. We also apply strict transportation standards, including inspection and maintenance, and continually seek to implement new technology to protect our employees against accidents. Following the unfortunate spate of explosions last year, we undertook comprehensive risk assessments and explosion audits at all our mines to ensure they comply with the relevant transportation standards.
	Fire and explosion Major incident causing loss of life and property damage		All our operations implement and adhere to mandatory codes of practice and mine standards for fire prevention and flammable gas explosions. As part of our Critical Control Management programme, we regularly implement and verify our controls for fires and explosions. Automatic fire detection and suppression systems are on planned maintenance schedules and are checked at predetermined intervals. It is compulsory to use self-contained self-rescuers at all our underground operations. In 2022, independent fire engineers conducted in-depth fire and explosion audits to assess our level of compliance with global best practice and develop remediation plans where necessary.
	Ezulwini and Cooke 3, 2 and 1 Impact of Ezulwini and Cooke 3, 2 and 1 rewatering on South Deep		The reinforced concrete water plugs between South Deep and the Sibanye-Stillwater-managed Ezulwini mine (previously Cooke 4) undergo robust inspections, regularly planned maintenance and a condition-monitoring programme to ensure their integrity. There is a legal process for Ezulwini's closure under way, in which we participate as an interested party backed by a robust legal strategy. South Deep is also seeking to work with Ezulwini to find alternative solutions to use the mine water in a safe and sustainable way.
	Infrastructure Material damage to assets or infrastructure		We have planned maintenance systems for all our fixed infrastructure, machinery and equipment. Third-party specialists and original equipment manufacturers support these systems through condition monitoring. Shafts at South Deep are operated by skilled and experienced personnel and are subject to robust operating standards and procedures, regulatory examinations and compliance audits. We conduct in-depth structural inspections using third-party specialists and, where necessary, we remediate. We keep critical spares and contingency plans updated to ensure rapid recovery in case of a breakdown.