Nov 14 (Reuters) - 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 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 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 ( AU )

Iduapriem mines in Ghana, to help cut costs, has been held back

by a parliamentary recess as the west African country holds

elections on Dec.7.

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