Gold Fields may look for buyers for its smaller mines in Ghana and Peru to focus on bigger operations and is hoping to make new mineral discoveries at both mines to enhance their appeal, CEO Mike Fraser said on Thursday.

Gold Fields shares were down 4% at 0842 GMT.

The Johannesburg-based gold miner is shifting focus to advancing its new Salares Norte mine in Chile as well as projects belonging to Osisko Mining, which it recently bought for about $1.6 billion.

Gold Fields could potentially sell its Damang mine in Ghana where it is only processing stockpiled ore after stopping mining operations last year, Fraser said.

The miner could also seek buyers for its Cerro Corona mine in Peru - which has five years left on its lifespan - the CEO added.

Gold Fields is studying the potential for new mineral discoveries at both mines to help attract buyers, he said.

"We do want to set it up in a way that, if we keep it, we know we have unlocked the value," Fraser told Reuters. "If we decide to sell it to someone else, we would have sold it with an embedded option for life extension."

Gold output at Damang, which has been mined since 1997, fell 11% to about 33,000 ounces in the three months to September, the company said. The Peru mine produced 20,800 ounces compared to 16,800 ounces in the previous quarter.

Gold Fields' output rose 12% to 510,000 ounces in the September quarter and the company maintained its production for the year at about 2.1 million ounces.

The ramp-up at Salares Norte resumed towards the end of the last quarter after being disrupted by severe weather and the new mine is expected to produce up to 50,000 ounces this year, with output potentially rising to 375,000 ounces in 2025.

A plan to merge Gold Fields' Tarkwa and AngloGold Ashanti's Iduapriem mines in Ghana, to help cut costs, has been held back by a parliamentary recess as Ghana holds elections on Dec.7.

"Due to the election we just ran out of time," Fraser said.