Gold Fields on Thursday reported a 7% increase in first quarter production while flagging the impact of rising inflation on costs.

Output for the quarter ended March 31 rose to 580 000 ounces from 541 000 ounces a year earlier.

 Its South African, Australian and Peruvian operations increased production with only its Ghana operations reporting a decline, down 5%.

Gold Fields’ all-in sustaining cost (AISC) – a metric used to measure overall production cost – was $1,150 per ounce, up 7% from a year earlier.

High commodity prices have driven inflation in energy costs, logistics and consumables, CEO Chris Griffith said in an operational update for the quarter.

“While we expected the mining sector to be challenged by high inflation at the start of the year, the impact has been worse than initially expected,” Griffith said.

Gold Fields said its Salares Norte project in Chile, which is behind schedule due to Covid-19-related absenteeism, is still on course to produce its first gold at the end of the first quarter of 2023.