London and Johannesburg - Gold Fields Limited is set to become the world's first gold mining company to sell Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), the financial securities used to trade carbon emissions.

Gold Fields will derive the CERs from the capture of methane gas at its Beatrix Gold Mine in South Africa's Free State province. The company will sell 1,700,000 CERs to European energy trading company Mercuria Energy Trading SA under forward contracts which will run until 2016. The transaction was brokered by TFS Green, the carbon credits broker and environmental business of the worldwide Tradition Group and is estimated to be worth $26 million.

Gold Fields will use the funds to finance a number of projects linked to the methane capture. The first phase, set for completion before the end of this year, comprises the installation of a methane extraction system underground and flares above surface. For the second phase Gold Fields is looking at ways of using the gas to generate electricity, thereby converting a harmful greenhouse gas into a valuable resource. Construction of a power generation plant, with the potential to generate about 5MW of electricity, is scheduled to start next year.

Gold Fields' Chief Executive Officer, Nick Holland, comments: "In addition to the obvious financial and environmental benefits, this project will result in a safer working environment for our people at Beatrix, as it eliminates the hazard of underground mine methane, and it is one of many examples that shows Gold Fields' commitment to being the global leader in sustainable gold mining."

CERs are traded globally and frequently bought by industrial companies as part of their efforts to alleviate their own carbon emission obligations.

Methane originates from underground geological features such as faults, fissures and dykes and escapes during the normal course of mining operations. If released into the atmosphere it is a potent greenhouse gas. At Beatrix the methane gas will be captured at source underground and then conveyed via a network of pipes to the surface, where the methane will be flared. Installation of the underground pipes is well underway.

Gold Fields Limited is one of the world’s largest producers of gold with attributable production of 3.6 million ounces per annum from nine operating mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and Peru. Gold Fields also has an extensive growth pipeline with both greenfields and near mine exploration projects at various stages of development.