SUSTAINABILITY 
Water stewardship
Gold Fields prioritises water stewardship as a key component of the Group's strategic pillars as we recognise the critical role water plays in our mining and ore processing activities, the communities in which we operate and the wider ecosystems. As an indispensable shared resource and fundamental human right, we appreciate the inherently multi-dimensional value water holds for people and nature. We develop and implement our operation-based water stewardship strategies and three-year water tactical plans based on the individual context of our sites. This is especially important as three of the four countries in which we operate are classified as water-stressed. Furthermore, we are building on our ever-increasing knowledge base and lessons learned to continuously refine our comprehensive climate change-related risk management processes in our operations.
Our Group 2030 Water Stewardship Strategy is rooted in our commitments as set out in the Group Water Stewardship Policy Statement. These are categorised into four pillars: climate adaptation and preparedness, water efficiency, protecting water quality, and catchment management – the latter recognising that, in many jurisdictions, our operations share the water they use with communities.
Our two 2030 Group water targets drive our performance towards greater water efficiency, as set out below. The risk-informed asset water stewardship strategies of each operation are founded on the four pillars, supported by three-year tactical plans.
During 2024, Gold Fields spent US$72.4m (2023: US$46.6m) on water stewardship and projects, including upgrading old return water dams and commissioning a reverse osmosis plant at South Deep and introducing tailings filters at Salares Norte.
Total water withdrawal1 across the Group amounted to 18.1GLRA in 2024 (2023: 18.3GL), while water withdrawal per tonne processed was 403L/tRA(2023: 406L/t). The Group's 2024 water consumption2 was 14.5GLRA (2023: 13.8GL).
| 2030 target | 2024 target | 2024 performance |
| Reduce freshwater withdrawal3 by 45% from 2018 baseline | Reduce freshwater withdrawal by 19% from 2018 baseline | Total freshwater withdrawal for 2024 amounted to 11.1GLRA – a 23% reduction from our 2018 baseline. We adjusted our freshwater target during the year to include Granny Smith in the Group freshwater calculation, necessitated by a heavy rainfall event which improved Granny Smith’s water quality to “fresh”. We achieved the adjusted target. Our 2030 target remains unchanged. |
| Recycle/reuse4 80% of total water used | Recycle/reuse 75% of total water use | 74%RA of total water used by the Group was recycled or reused, falling slightly short of our 2024 target, mainly due to challenges experienced at South Deep and Tarkwa. Tarkwa recorded low rainfall during Q1 2024, reducing the size of the TSF ponds and, consequently, the volume of process water available for recycling or reuse. A delay in completing the upgrade to South Deep’s Old Return Water Dam reduced storage capacity for process water. Dry weather further reduced the ability for recycling and reuse. |
| 1 | Water withdrawal is the sum of all water drawn into Gold Fields' operations from all sources (including surface water, groundwater, rainwater, or water from other organisations, state or municipal providers) for any use at the mine |
| 2 | Water consumption is total water withdrawal less discharge |
| 3 | Freshwater withdrawal is water with low concentrations of dissolved salts and other dissolved solids |
| 4 | Recycled water is water or wastewater that is treated before being reused, while reused water is water or wastewater that is reused without treatment at the same operation |
