25th Feb 2014 10:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Randgold Resources Ltd Tuesday said commissioning of the sulphide circuit at the Kibali gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now underway, as Chief Executive Mark Bristow said the development of the mine was just one plank in the company's strategy that will see it come through the recent gold price falls in good shape.
The company, which has a 45% stake in Kibali, said production started from the open pit mine at the site through an oxide circuit last September, but the sulphide circuit and the development of underground mine will further boost output.
"While the plant processes ore from the open pit mine, the underground mine is still being developed and has just accessed the first underground ore," Bristow said in a statement.
The Randgold Chief Executive told a conference in Miami, Florida that Kibali posted a profit in its first quarter of operation and is on track to meet production guidance of 550,000 ounces in 2014.
Bristow also told the conference that Randgold's long-term strategy has been unaffected by last year's steep fall in gold prices which hurt much of the gold mining industry.
"We're not worrying about how we're going to get through 2014; we have a robust value-focused five year plan in place, and we are looking to build on that. It's worth noting that our models are based entirely on our banked reserves and on a long term gold price of USD1,000 per ounce," he said.
Gold was trading at USD1,332.75 an ounce Tuesday morning.
"In addition to the upside associated with Kibali's main open pit and underground orebodies, which is still being evaluated, our exploration team is also hunting for fresh opportunities within its vast lease areas, and a number of exciting, if early stage, prospects have already been identified. Elsewhere in the DRC and West Africa, we're aggressively exploring our extensive groundholdings for new discoveries," Bristow added.
Randgold Resources shares were down 1.6% at 4,797.25 pence Tuesday morning.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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