Quarter-on-quarter costs at the South Deep gold mine, 45 km south-west of Johannesburg, soared 56% to a steep $1 821/oz in the first three months of this year on a production fall to 45 800 oz. Worse still, the mine suffered two fatal accidents. A total of 20 900 oz of gold was lost as a result of the fatal accidents, as well as three falls of ground in the thinner, more proximal part of the South Deep orebody. At the start of this month, former De Beers Consolidated Mines executive Martin Preece, who has extensive experience in massive underground mining, joined Gold Fields as executive VP for South Africa to help South Deep become an efficient, sustainable mechanised gold mine.