JOHANNESBURG, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Gold Fields

said on Friday it will produce much less gold this year than

previously forecast due to challenges in raising output at a new

mine in Chile and its South African operation.

The Johannesburg-based gold miner said its 2024 output has

been scaled down to between 2 million ounces and 2.15 million

ounces from a previous forecast of about 2.3 million ounces.

Gold Fields' profit slumped to $320.7 million in the first

half of this year, compared with about $458 million in the same

period last year, taking a hit from declining gold output.