Environmental stewardship

Gold Fields is committed to sound environmental stewardship. We aim to use the natural resources our business depends on responsibly, care for the environment in our operational and surrounding areas and limit the impact of our operations on our host communities.

Our mining activities can result in adverse environmental impacts on our host communities, including:

• Water consumption or withdrawal from surface and underground sources within our community catchments, which could deplete shared resources
• Environmental incidents, including spillages of hydrocarbons, chemicals or processing water. These can lead to pollution of surface and groundwater sources, impact on aquatic life, land and soils, or fauna and flora
• Dust emissions from our TSFs, waste rock dumps, blasting and roads, which could impact ambient air quality
• Noise and vibrations from our blasting activities can impact our neighbouring communities
• Land clearance for new or expanded mining activities could impact economic livelihoods (like agricultural activities) and cultural heritage

Our overall commitment to our communities, as embedded in our 2030 ESG targets, is for zero serious environmental incidents. We have separate ESG targets for water, tailings and climate change that seek to ensure we meet our commitment to responsible stewardship of natural resources and the environment as well as minimising the risks posed to our host communities from environmental impacts. These include our responsibility to comply with regulatory requirements, obligations relating to the rules, codes and standards we subscribe to, including the International Cyanide Management Code.

Through our Group policy statements and guidelines, as well as our ISO 14001:2015 certified environmental management systems at each operation, we have processes in place to identify and assess potential risks and impacts, implement mitigation and management measures, and apply monitoring and evaluation programmes to avoid and, where we cannot prevent, manage potential environmental impacts on our host communities.

This section outlines our commitments, progress and approach to:

• Water stewardship
• Energy and carbon management
• Nature
• Mine closure
• Tailings management

Environmental incidents

The Group met its 2023 target of zero serious environmental incidents, in line with our 2030 ESG target.

Our environmental incidents are classified by type and severity from Level 1 – Level 5. Level 5 is the most severe, as these incidents could seriously impact our operations, communities and the environment. We consider Level 3 – 5 incidents as serious environmental incidents. We have not recorded a Level 4 or Level 5 incident in over a decade or a Level 3 incident since 2018.

We continue to track and manage our less serious Level 2 environmental incidents, which assists us in preventing more serious incidents. Level 2 incidents improved from 2022, continuing our positive trend over the past five years.

Seven of the Level 2 environmental incidents recorded in 2023 related to a loss of containment and one related to wildlife mortalities. The detailed investigations into deaths of ducks at Agnew mine in 2022 and January 2023 resulted in netting being placed over water storage ponds at the mine; there have been no further related incidents.

Group environmental incidents¹

	Level 3 – 5	Level 2
2023	0RA	8RA
2022	0	10
2021	0	7
2020	0	12
2019	0	37

1

Level 1 and 2 environmental incidents involve minor incidents or non-conformances with negligible or short-term limited impact. A Level 3 incident results in limited non-conformance or non-compliance with ongoing but limited environmental impact. Level 4 and 5 incidents include major non-conformances or non-compliances, which could result in long-term environmental harm, with Company or operation-threatening implications and potential damage to Company reputation

Water stewardship

Access to water is a fundamental human right and a vital resource for Gold Fields' mining and ore processing activities. We share water with the communities and other industries near our operations, making responsible water stewardship crucial for our licence to operate. This is particularly important as three of the countries where we operate – Australia, South Africa and Chile – are water-stressed. Furthermore, climate change impacts our operations and communities through severe rainfall, shifts in rainfall patterns and prolonged droughts.

Our commitment to water stewardship is demonstrated by our 2030 ESG targets, which include two water-related targets:

• Reduce freshwater use by 45% from the 2018 baseline of 14.5GL
• Recycle or reuse 80% of the water our operations consume

During the year, we revised our Group Water Stewardship Strategy up to 2030 drawing from global priorities for responsible water stewardship. This includes commitments to industry standards such as the ICMM Water Position Statement and the WGC's Responsible Gold Mining Principles, as well as international policies like UN SDG 6 and the TCFD framework.

Our approach is also guided by a 2030 Water Stewardship Framework, which we developed following a bottom-up approach. The process started with a comprehensive review of the baseline and regional-specific contexts, which included a review of peer companies, risk profiles, current performance and industry trends. We held regional workshops to review our operational risks, which covered regulatory requirements, and social and biophysical considerations. Regional water stewardship strategies and three-year tactical plans with implementation programmes were reviewed, with regional strategies consolidated into the Group's Water Stewardship Strategy. Gold Fields' measures and targets were set, with consideration of the existing commitments made within the context of relevant material global trends. Finally, the Group Water Stewardship Policy Statement was reviewed to ensure alignment of commitments and water-specific statements.

Our strategy, as encapsulated by the Integrated Water Stewardship Framework depicted alongside, focuses on proactive water management and efficiency while enhancing engagement with catchment stakeholders to create enduring value beyond mining. It consists of pillars:

• Climate adaptation and preparedness: identifying and understanding our vulnerability to drought and flooding
• Water efficiency: continuously reducing demand for freshwater and optimising water use to prepare for potential supply shortfalls and ensure sufficient supply to the areas in which we operate
• Protecting water quality: minimising pollution discharge into natural environments to safeguard human and environmental health
• Catchment management: managing the impact of our operations on host communities in the catchment and collaborating with stakeholders to address common challenges and identify opportunities, including Shared Value water projects

We recognise the local nature of water and, as such, follow a bottom-up strategic approach using regional water strategies as our foundation. All regions have developed three-year water tactical plans to support the implementation of our four strategic pillars. The infographic below outlines our Integrated Water Stewardship Framework.

Our Integrated Water Stewardship Framework

For regional water stewardship strategies and action plans, refer to our Climate Change Report

Group performance

We continue to invest in improving our water stewardship practices, including pollution prevention, recycling and water saving initiatives. During 2023, Gold Fields spent US$46.6m (2022: US$37m) on water stewardship and projects, including upgrading old return water dams, reusing process water, introducing tailings filters, dust suppression and recovering water used in our truck washing.

We successfully aligned to the ICMM Water Stewardship Maturity Framework during the year, and a third party verified the Group's water management practices and our operations' self-assessment, which were found to be at an advanced level of maturity. Disclosure of water-related matters, internally and externally, were found to be well-established at Gold Fields, while areas of improvement included more collective partnerships, investments in green infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

For more detail on our implementation of the ICMM Water Stewardship Maturity Framework and our regional water stewardship strategies, refer to our Climate Change Report.

Water withdrawal¹ across the Group remained unchanged at 18.3GL^RA in 2023 (2022: 18.3GL), while water withdrawal per tonne processed decreased to 406L/t^RA in 2023 (2022:416L/t). Water consumption² across the Group increased to 13.8GL^RA in 2023 (2022: 13.5GL) due to decreased discharges at Tarkwa and Cerro Corona. To meet our two water-related 2030 ESG targets, we set the following targets for 2023:

• Reduce freshwater withdrawal by 45% from the 2018 baseline of 14.5GL to 10GL: We reduced our freshwater withdrawal to 8.8GL^RA (2022: 8.5GL), a 39% reduction from the 2018 baseline. This was mainly due to lower-than-planned water use at South Deep, implementation of water saving initiatives at Tarkwa and the delay to the start of operations at Salares Norte. We remain on track to achieve our 2030 target
• Recycle or reuse 75% of total water used: We recycled or reused 74%^RA of our water in 2023. Challenges included the delay in production at Salares Norte and technical challenges with the South Deep underground filtration plant. The potable water pipeline to South Deep was also damaged by illegal miners. However, the mine also invested in a second reverse osmosis plant to recycle 3ML per day of processed water. The plant will assist South Deep in its target of treating up to 80% of its processed water and reducing the amount of water provided by the public water utility

We benchmark our water use by participating in the CDP Water programme, which indicates a company's commitment to water transparency through a water score. In 2023, Gold Fields received an A ranking, the highest possible score. We are among 16% of companies that reached leadership level in our activity group – metallic mineral mining, which is higher than the sector average of B– .

For more detail on our implementation of the ICMM Water Stewardship Maturity Framework and our regional water stewardship strategies, refer to our Climate Change Report.

Energy and carbon management

Mining and processing gold is an energy-intensive process. Changing geology, declining grades, longer haulage distances and increasing mine depths requiring additional cooling and ventilation tend to boost energy requirements further. Gold Fields' operations depend on consistent energy supply, making efficient energy management a top priority. Beyond this, managing our energy is critical to decarbonising our operations and achieving our targets to reduce absolute emissions by 50% and net emissions by 30%, on the road to achieving our target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Climate change's impacts on Gold Fields and our stakeholders are real and immediate, mainly due to:

• The long-term risks posed by climate change to the Group's operations and host communities
• Increasing efforts to regulate carbon emissions in most of our jurisdictions
• Taxes on non-renewable energy consumption increasingly being imposed by governments

In 2022, we established a Group Climate Change Steering Committee to drive the formulation and implementation of our Climate Change Strategy. The Committee encompasses all climate-related functions within Gold Fields as well as the majority of the Group's executive leaders.

Our Energy and Carbon Management Strategy focuses on ensuring a secure energy supply and cost-effective electricity and reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Our key energy and carbon management initiatives include:

• Developing energy management plans for all our operations with a focus on energy efficiencies
• Extensively investing in renewable energy
• Trialling zero-emission vehicles
• Optimising compressed air systems and new ventilation fans and controls
• Using high precision drill rigs to minimise rework
• Using fuel additives and other business improvement initiatives to optimise equipment energy consumption
• Using larger trucks to move more material with better fuel efficiencies
• Incorporating emissions reduction targets into the Long-term Incentive Programme (LTIP) and RCF conditions
• Conducting a Group-wide Scope 3 baseline study

The interest payments of two sustainability-linked loans we signed in 2023 are linked in part to gradually reducing our emissions. Furthermore, we announced our 2030 target to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 10% from our 2022 baseline, and looking ahead we will collaborate extensively with our main suppliers to achieve this.

Our Climate Change Report provides further detail on our energy and carbon management and performance and integrated approach to climate change.

Energy performance

Overall, our energy spend decreased by 4% during 2023 to US$405m (2022: US$424m), mainly due to lower oil prices and increased renewables resulting in reduced energy costs.

Total energy spend, which combines the Group's electricity and fuel spend, amounted to 19% of total operating costs in 2023, down from 21% in 2022. This represents 15% of AISC (2022: 16%) and translates to US$163/oz.

Total energy consumption during the year reduced marginally to 14.0PJ^RA from 14.1PJ in 2022. The Group energy mix comprises mainly haulage diesel, gas, grid electricity and renewable electricity, which contributed 17% of total electricity consumption during the year. Energy intensity increased to 5.66GJ/oz (2022: 5.49GJ/oz).

We spent US$8m on energy and emission saving initiatives (including renewable investments) in 2023, which resulted in energy savings of 1.28PJ^RA (2022: 1.08PJ) and cost savings of US$28m – equal to US$56/oz. Since the launch of our Energy and Carbon Management Strategy in 2017, we have realised cumulative energy savings of 6.7PJ and cumulative cost savings of approximately US$259m.

Emissions performance

Total 2023 Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions decreased by 5% to 1,632kt CO²e^RA (2022: 1,716kt CO²e), on the back of increased renewables in our energy mix. Emission intensity dropped to 660kg CO²e/oz in 2023 from 669kg CO²e/oz in 2022.

Emission reductions from savings initiatives decreased to 201kt CO₂e^RA during 2023 (2022: 302kt CO₂e), due to the emission factors of the electricity plants in Ghana being higher than the Ghana grid emissions factor. While they continue to provide energy security, they do not currently reduce our emissions against the baseline.

We expect overall emissions and emissions intensity to continue declining in 2024 and beyond as our renewables capacity grows.

As illustrated in the roadmap alongside, we foresee that our Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions will decline from 1,632kt CO₂e^RA in 2023 to 1,586kt CO2e in 2024 and eventually to our 2030 target of 1,185kt CO₂e, a net emissions reduction of 30% from our 2016 base. This will be achieved through the roll-out of renewable energies, the implementation of energy efficiency initiatives, gradually replacing diesel in our fleet and decarbonise movement of mined material and waste. Without our decarbonisation initiatives, our Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprint would amount to some 2.4Mt CO₂e by 2030.

In 2023, Gold Fields re-baselined our 2022 Scope 3 emissions to 980kt CO₂e^LA. In 2023, Scope 3 emissions reduced by 3% to 950kt CO₂e^RA.

Renewable energy

To ensure secure and affordable energy supplies, reduce costs and decarbonise our energy sources, we integrate renewable energy into our energy supply mix. We operate large-scale renewable electricity plants at four of our nine mines. Our Cerro Corona mine in Chile and the Windfall project in Canada are completely powered by hydroelectricity.

The Group obtained 17% (2022: 13%) of its electricity from renewable sources in 2023. Based on our current estimates, we expect this to increase to 22% by 2026, as our solar and wind plants at Gruyere, Granny Smith, Agnew and South Deep increase capacity and renewables plants are constructed at St Ives and Salares Norte. All our mines are evaluating renewables plants, carrying out trials on battery-electric or low-carbon vehicles and exploring options to increase the renewable portion of their energy mix.

Our renewables plants at our Australian mines are managed by independent power producers (IPPs), who recoup their capital investment via a long-term supply agreement with our mines. Where funding from Gold Fields is required, this is largely from operational cash-flows. However, at South Deep and, this year, at St Ives, we decided to build the plants ourself to gain the full benefit of the cost savings that renewable energy plants have over grid tariffs.

We are working toward ensuring that renewables account for approximately 70% of the Group's electricity mix by 2030 and 100% by 2050. The remaining emission savings will stem from further energy efficiency initiatives, as well as the gradual replacement of our diesel-powered fleet with zero-emission equipment. We are piloting some of these vehicles at various mines while also working with our peers in the ICMM to ensure rapid progress in rolling out safer and cleaner vehicles.

Australia

During 2023, 13% (2022: 12%) of the region's electricity requirements were met through renewables. The investments in renewables and energy efficiency initiatives were responsible for the region's 2023 carbon emission savings of 96kt CO₂e.

Agnew is our flagship renewables mine and one of the first gold mines in the world to generate over half of its electricity requirements from renewable sources. Wind and solar provided 50% of the mine's electricity during the year. A 4MW gas power station and a 9MW solar farm expansion will be commissioned in 2024 to cater for increasing demand.

Granny Smith's hybrid system – comprising 8MW on-site solar, a 2MW battery power system and a gas power plant – generated 7% of its electricity supply from renewables during the year. Gruyere's 12MW solar plant provided 9% of its electricity during the year, and a pre-feasibility study to increase the renewable energy capacity to 60% was completed.

In February 2024, the Board approved the construction of a US$195m solar and wind plant at St Ives. When completed, up to 73% of the mine's electricity is expected to be sourced from renewables – significantly reducing the Group's future Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

South Africa

In South Africa, the mining sector continues to be impacted by extensive loadshedding. Because of this, South Deep has to curtail certain operational activities at times and, as a last resort, utilise diesel-powered generators. The mine alternates between hoisting and milling activities to minimise the impact on production.

To reduce our reliance on Eskom and achieve cost benefits, South Deep constructed the 50MW Khanyisa solar plant, which completed its first year of production in 2023. We invested R715m (US$46m) in the plant's construction.

The solar plant provided approximately 15% of South Deep's electricity needs during the year and led to R150m (US$7.1m) in savings. Once ramped-up to full capacity, it is expected to provide 23% of the mine's electricity needs and reduce annual emissions by 110kt CO₂e. To improve performance, South Deep applied to Eskom for net‑billing to enable the plant to produce the maximum possible energy and feed the excess into the Eskom grid.

South Deep is studying the use of wind power and battery storage. The mine commissioned a meteorological mast in 2022 to evaluate wind as a source of energy to supplement solar electricity and provide additional electricity at night. The feasibility study indicated positive results. If approved, construction is expected to start in 2025 at cost of around R1.2bn (US$70m) and will include six to seven wind turbines producing 7MW each.

Chile

The 7.7MW solar plant of Salares Norte's 26MW hybrid diesel-solar power project received environmental approval during 2023. Construction is expected to start in 2025, roughly a year after first gold. Diesel generators currently provide 16MW, with the 8MW solar plant to be added in early 2025. Once fully operational, it will be the highest solar plant in the world at over 4,500m above sea level, providing approximately 20% of the mine's electricity. The plant is set to save the mine over US$7m in energy costs over the first 10 years and reduce carbon emissions by 10kt CO₂e a year.

Climate adaptation

The rapidly changing climate and the increased rainfall intensity that our mines are experiencing presents a significant risk to our operations, particularly open pits.

Gold Fields has appointed external geotechnical review boards to help implement industry best practice geotechnical design, monitoring, mine design, extraction sequencing, and ground support implementation, specifically at Cerro Corona, South Deep and the Wallaby mine at Granny Smith. Geotechnical instabilities at the mines are often affected by severe climate events, such as severe weather and rainfall, which may lead to periodic floods, mudslides, and wall instability. With the help of the boards, we seek to mitigate these risks.

Gold Fields and other multinational mining houses are members of the Large Open Pit Consortium (an industry-sponsored, international research and technology transfer project) which commissioned an external review of the potential risk and impact of climate change on open-pit mines and waste dumps. The findings indicated the main risk related to extended periods of freeze and thaw affecting slope stability. At present, Gold Fields does not have any operations that are affected by these conditions, and therefore any climate change risks associated with Gold Fields' open pits are considered negligible.

Nature

Nature comprises four interdependent physical realms that interact with society, being land, freshwater, oceans and the atmosphere. Biodiversity is the variability, or diversity among all living things.

The loss of nature is a serious global challenge, one closely interlinked with climate change and human development inequalities. Addressing these connected global challenges requires an integrated whole-of-society approach.

Our commitment to nature, including biodiversity conservation, guides us to:

• Neither mine nor explore in World Heritage sites
• Design and operate our mines in a way that does not compromise the nature values of any protected area
• Strive for no net loss of nature for all new projects and major expansions at existing sites
• Contribute to the conservation of nature and integrated approaches to land-use planning

Our commitment aligns with the ICMM Performance Expectations, and our independently verified self-assessment includes no net loss for major expansions and projects, and application of the mitigation hierarchy in our biodiversity management. As a member of the ICMM, we take guidance from their thought leadership and, specifically, we aim to incorporate the newly released Position Statement on Nature into our ESG Charter, governance, decision-making and disclosures going forward. We seek to specifically consider the interconnectedness and linkages between climate and nature as we progress with our sustainable development journey.

As part of our undertaking to incorporate the commitments of the ICMM Position Statement on Nature, we are preparing a Group nature baseline risk assessment, which considers Gold Fields' interface with biomes, environmental assets and ecosystem services at a regional landscape level. This assessment will identify high risk, dependency and/or key priority nature-related focus areas and establish the baseline for our nature-related work going forward. Our climate strategy, including decarbonisation commitments and efforts, water stewardship strategy and stakeholder value creation priorities will systematically incorporate these risks, dependencies and focus areas for ultimate holistic alignment across our ESG Charter and targets.

For more detail on our alignment to the ICMM Position Statement on Nature, refer to our Climate Change Report.

Our strategy supports our commitment to sustainable mining coexisting with nature conservation. We are mitigating a key nature risk at Salares Norte in Chile, where we developed a strategy to rescue and relocate Short-tailed Chinchillas. The strategy focuses on nature conservation and achieving "net habitat gain". We continuously engage with various stakeholders – including independent environmental experts – to carry it out effectively.

Our Chinchilla rescue and relocation plan started in October 2020 but was halted by the regulator after the loss of two Chinchillas. In June 2023, the regulator approved our revised Environmental Compliance Programme and the sanction was suspended. Chinchilla relocation activities resumed in February 2024.

For more detail on the Chinchilla relocation, refer to our Report to Stakeholders.

South Deep drafted a five-year biodiversity action plan that seeks to conserve and reintroduce flora and fauna species on its property, protect wetlands and other ecosystems, and remove invasive species. The plan also includes engagement and awareness programmes with surrounding communities. During 2023, South Deep received the first honey production from the ten bee bunkers housing 500,000 bees. A further 40 bee bunkers were introduced at the bee apiary site. The project is intended to be handed over to the host communities once training is complete.

Coconut plantation established by Gold Fields for its Damang host communities

Mine closure

Gold Fields considers mine closure an integral part of our core business. As mining ends on our sites, we strive to achieve sustainable outcomes that benefit our business, people, host communities and the environment. We integrate mine closure into our business activities to reduce our environmental and social impacts, optimise our liabilities and, where possible, enhance asset values.

Gold Fields' integrated mine closure planning, portfolio management and liability optimisation are supported by the following:

• Regularly reviewing and updating operations' closure plans, which we maintain on an annual basis
• Developing rigorous closure cost estimates, which are internally and externally reviewed annually
• Setting annual performance targets for the implementation of progressive rehabilitation plans

With two years left until Damang reaches the end of its life in 2025 and its role in the Gold Fields portfolio of assets still to be finalised, we undertook a closure gap assessment in 2023 by identifying the necessary information the operation will require to prepare a definitive closure plan. The gap analysis included social transition, bioavailability, waste characterisation, hydrogeological and geotechnical investigation, and post-closure water management studies. We engaged relevant stakeholders – including host community representatives, regulators and local government agencies – in the development of scopes to close the identified gaps. A detailed mine closure plan for Damang will be finalised in 2024.

All our sites are implementing progressive rehabilitation plans, which include closure-related technical studies and designs; remediation of contaminated areas; decommissioning and removal of redundant infrastructure; landform reshaping; revegetation; and in-pit waste rock disposal. In 2023, the Group met its target and achieved an average of 85% (2022: 88%) of the measures set in the progressive rehabilitation plans. Group spend on progressive rehabilitation amounted to US$15m in 2023 (2022: US$11m).

Other key developments included:

• Developing a detailed closure design and tender package for remedial works at Granny Smith's waste rock facility
• Revegetation of the underlap pit expansion wall, maintenance of existing rehabilitated sites and raising of seedlings at Tarkwa
• Backfilling of the decommissioned South Pond at Tarkwa

The Group's 2023 mine closure liability increased by 6% to US$598m from 2022, largely due to additional liabilities at Cerro Corona where closure liability increased to US$169m in 2023 from US$148m in 2022. This increase is due to changes to the scope of work to ensure compliance with the GISTM. As in previous years, some closure liability cost increases have been partly offset by progressive rehabilitation activities, efficiencies in mine closure planning and activities' costs.

The regional breakdown is provided in the table below:

Group closure estimates (US$m)	2023	2022
Australia1	231	215
South Africa	44	47
Ghana	107	101
Americas	216	201
Group total	598	565

1	Includes 50% of Gruyere’s closure liability

In 2022, Gold Fields started to take a proactive, beyond-compliance approach to funding the inevitable closure of our mines, which includes supplementing the funding we are currently required by the regulators to set aside. Our existing bank guarantees and other security agreements remain in place to support potential unplanned closures and to meet in-country regulatory requirements.

Each country makes provision for mine closure cost estimates in the following way:

• Australia: existing operating cash and resources and restricted funds set aside (US$29m was set aside in 2023)
• South Africa: contributions to environmental trust funds and guarantees ensuring that the life-of-mine closure liability will be fully funded. We set aside an additional US$1m in 2023
• Ghana: reclamation security agreements and bonds underwritten by banks, as well as continued restricted funds set aside. We set aside an additional US$11m in 2023
• Chile: bank guarantees
• Peru: bank guarantees and restricted funds set aside (US$10m was set aside in 2023)

Tailings management

All Gold Fields-managed operations have tailings management plans in place that promote continuous risk reduction and mitigation over the lifecycle of each TSF, which are also operated and managed in accordance with the Group's TSF Management Standard and Framework. In addition, we manage and maintain critical controls and performance objectives to ensure TSF embankments remain stable over the life of these facilities. We are also developing Water Storage Facility and Stormwater Management Infrastructure Design guidelines, as well as a TSF-specific Risk Management Guideline.

Our 2030 ESG targets relating to TSF management are twofold: reduce the number of active upstream-raised TSFs from five to three and ensure we conform with the GISTM. During the year, we reduced the number of active upstream-raised TSFs to four and are on track to achieving our goal of three by 2030.

As at end-2023, our 11 operations (including our two non-managed JVs, Asanko in Ghana and Far Southeast in the Philippines) have 38 TSFs, of which 11 are active.
Of the active TSFs, two are in-pit TSFs – at Agnew and St Ives – five are downstream/centre-line TSFs, and four are upstream-raised TSFs. In addition, one TSF is under construction – a new filtered stack at Salares Norte.

Over the past two years, we converted one of Tarkwa's TSFs from an upstream-raised facility to a downstream-raised facility. All future raises will be downstream.
A second TSF at Tarkwa is also in the process of being converted, with an expected completion date of Q4 2025.

Our Australian and South African mines are located in relatively dry regions, and the TSFs are operated with minimal supernatant water ponds. In Ghana, TSFs at Tarkwa and Damang are designed to withstand exceptionally high seasonal rainfalls. In contrast, Salares Norte's TSF is a filtered stack located in an arid/desert environment, and will be commissioned in H1 2024 soon after the mine starts operating in April 2024.

A detailed profile of Gold Fields' TSFs can be found on our website at www.goldfields.com/environment-tsf.php

Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management

In August 2022, the ICMM launched the GISTM as part of its vision to improve sustainable development in the mining and metals industry. The GISTM provides a new, international best practice for governance, engineering, environmental and social aspects of tailings management and emphasises the importance of proper and meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the tailings facility.

Member companies had until August 2023 to ensure TSFs classified as having "extreme" or "very high" potential consequences conform with the GISTM, and August 2025 for all other TSFs. The GISTM framework comprises six key topics to assist companies in achieving and maintaining safe and stable TSFs throughout their lifecycle, including the design, operation, closure and post-closure.

Our Cerro Corona TSF has an "extreme" consequence category rating, and Tarkwa's TSFs 1, 2 and 3 are "very high" consequence classification facilities. Consequently, the teams at Cerro Corona and Tarkwa spent the last three years working diligently to conform with the GISTM requirements. As part of this, we had to complete and provide evidence for over 220 physical deliverables and documents per TSF.

It is important to note that all significant dam safety and environmental-related requirements were identified, addressed and effectively managed. Gold Fields identified areas for further improvement, particularly in community engagement and consultation and addressing human rights risks with respect to emergency response and preparedness. These gaps will be addressed over the next 18 to 24 months.

The 2024 GISTM disclosure reports for both Cerro Corona and Tarkwa are available on our website. The disclosure documents have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Principle 15 of the GISTM.

Work is underway to conduct self-assessments for the lower consequence classification facilities at our other mines, due for GISTM conformance by August 2025.

In January 2023, on the fourth anniversary of the Brumadinho Tailings dam disaster, the United Nations Environment Programme and investors representing the Principles for Responsible Investment announced the formation of the Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI), which will drive and implement mining industry safety standards related to TSFs. The GTMI will be central to the independent auditing required of companies to ensure they conform with the GISTM.

TSF governance and technical work

All Gold Fields' active TSFs are subject to an independent external audit every three years, covering operational, legal and sustainable development-related aspects. The next round of audits is due in Q4 2024, which will also review our operations' ongoing conformance with the Group's TSF Management Standard and applicable design guidelines. Facilities with an "extreme" consequence rating must have this third-party operational review annually.

We retain an Engineer of Record (EoR) and independent technical reviewers for all active Gold Fieldsmanaged sites. A qualified external engineer fills the EoR role, supported by their consulting engineering company. EoRs are responsible for reviewing and approving all engineering and design data, associated operating and monitoring procedures, as-built drawings and facility inspections to confirm physical integrity, safety and ancillary structures' performance.

The Board maintains a high level of oversight of the Group's TSFs by reviewing quarterly TSF management reports and overseeing external and independent monitoring verification. We continue to improve TSFs' operational safety – including, where practical, considering filtered tailings (currently being installed at Salares Norte), commingling, improved water management and in-pit tailings disposal. The ICMM considers these initiatives in its work to improve critical TSF controls and reduce tailings water content.

Gold Fields has implemented several technical improvements at its TSFs, including:

• Considering leading practice assessments of static and seismic liquefaction
• Installing real-time information monitoring and database storage systems
• Setting minimum requirements for tailings surveillance
• Ensuring cross-discipline interaction for every TSF design or modification

Industry collaboration

Gold Fields actively engages with the industry on this subject. We have engaged in the following projects and initiatives:

• AMIRA P1217 research project, which investigates tailings instrumentation and monitoring technologies
• GeoStable Tailings Consortium (GSTC), a consortium of eight global mining companies, launched a multi-year initiative to implement new technological applications for managing tailings. It will study options to combine various blends of tailings with waste rock to create geo-stable landforms that are stronger and more stable than conventional tailings deposition methods and are likely to reduce process water consumption. The GSTC will undertake a range of research and development activities, including laboratory testing, field trials and data analysis, and will collaborate to promote best practices in tailings and waste management
• ICMM Tailings Management Working Group, which works with members to adopt a more proactive approach to tailings management

Waste management

Process plant tailings waste and waste rock (or mineralised waste) are two of the most significant by-products of mines. We are committed to responsibly managing these waste streams to minimise their impact on the environment and our host communities. We are working to achieve this by:

• Using waste rock material to support the construction of TSF embankments or in closure-related activities
• Backfilling tailings material in redundant open pits, which reduces the waste footprint
• Co-mingling of tailings and waste rock to mitigate potential pollution and create more stable landforms
• Operate tailings and waste rock facilities toward closure and align with GISTM requirements

Group mining waste (Mt)	Waste rock	Tailings
2023	117	58
2022	144	61
2021	155	58
2020	141	59
2019	141	48