Australasia Region

The St Ives and Agnew gold mines in Western Australia represent a solid base for Gold Fields growth in Australasia and are important contributors to the stated objective of building the production for the region to ~1 Moz per annum. St Ives is located 80 km north of Kalgoorlie and 5 to 25 km south-southwest of Kambalda, near Lake Lefroy in the eastern goldfields region of Western Australia. The operation falls within the geological region known as the Archaean Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt, which is well endowed in gold and nickel. St Ives takes its name from the largest of many small, historic workings scattered throughout the area, that of Ives Reward, which was discovered by prospector Pat Ives in 1919. Mining here was discontinued for many years and was resumed in 1981 by Western Mining Corporation Resources Limited (WMC).

Agnew is located 375 km north of Kalgoorlie. The Agnew deposit, in the same geological region as St Ives, was discovered in 1895. Mining by a variety of people and companies has continued off and on since then. WMC secured the leases early in the 1980s and started operating in 1986. Agnew was acquired by Gold Fields Limited in December 2001.

The Australasia Region mining and development assets of Gold Fields include:

• a 100% interest in St Ives Gold Mine located in Western Australia, and
• a 100% interest in Agnew Gold Mine located in Western Australia.

Annual overview

The Australasia Region has a declared Mineral Resource of 9.1 (7.7) Moz and Mineral Reserve of 3.0 (2.5) Moz, production depleted by 0.7 and 0.7 Moz respectively. The Region’s Mineral Resource base has increased by 19% net of depletion primarily because of the increase in gold price and discovery.

The total Mineral Reserve has increased by 22%, net of mined depletion due to the increase in gold price and discovery. The St Ives LoM has again been extended following a year of continued, successful exploration strategy implementation. The overall exploration programme and framework implemented over the past few years has consisted of systematic full field air core drill programmes, integrated with detailed geological mapping and modelling supported by regional geochemistry, multi element sampling, geophysics and visual 3D modelling.

The short term growth strategy at Agnew during the past 12 months has focused on replacing ounces mined underground from Waroonga. This has been achieved through a combination of extensional infill drilling of the known orebodies (Kim, Kim South and Main) and targeting of new ore positions (450 South).

The following points are noteworthy:

• Exploration spend for F2009 was dominated by the drill out of the Athena orebody at St Ives and other proximal targets, which has culminated in the declaration of the initial Mineral Reserve from this project area (410 koz);
• The Athena Complex, within the Condensor North mining area, now has a current mineral inventory in excess of 2.2 Moz. Further depth and extensional drilling will be completed in F2010 as options to bring this orebody into production are evaluated;
• Further contributions to the St Ives Mineral Reserve growth came from AUSTRALASIA REGION significant discoveries and expansion at the Argo (+151 koz) and Belleisle (+46 koz) underground mines where extension drilling and improved orebody modelling / structural control reviews were completed;

Gold Plant, Agnew Gold Mine, Australia.

• At the St Ives Cave Rocks underground mine, geological work focused on defining orebody geometry, continuity and spatial distribution during the past year, which will also provide the framework for future extensional drilling at this site;
• The two continuous improvement programmes, the UDIP (Underground Department Improvement Programme) and the ODIP (Open Pit Department Improvement Programme) initiated in late 2008, remain fundamental initiatives to drive operational excellence at St Ives;
• The key deliverable for Mineral Resource development in the next 12 months at Agnew’s Waroonga underground mine is the drill out of the Mineral Reserve of the extensive Kim South;
• A strategic goal for Agnew in F2010 is to achieve a Mineral Reserve of 1 Moz by June 2010, which would provide a LoM of approximately 5 years;
• A geological study of the whole Waroonga Complex is underway to provide better ore definition and optimise the exploration programme;
• Outside of the Waroonga Complex, exploration will be focused within the prospective Mine Central Corridor that hosts the vast majority of the larger gold orebodies discovered in the region (Songvang, Crusader Complex and Redeemer Complex).

Exploration drill rigs on Lake Lefroy, St Ives Gold Mine, Australia.

Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves ¹

Mineral Reserve sensitivities

The sensitivity of Mineral Reserve ounces at all the operations is shown in the accompanying chart, at -5%, -10% and +5%, +10% and +25%, relative to the base gold price used for this declaration.

Mineral Reserve sensitivities have been derived from the application of the relevant cut-off grades to individual grade-tonnage curves of the optimised pit shells for the open-pit operations.

The Mineral Reserve sensitivities are not based on detailed depletion schedules and should be considered on a relative and indicative basis only.

Australasia Region Mineral Reserve Sensitivity