Gounkoto discovery confirms gold upside in Mali

RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITEDIncorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands Reg. No. 62686 LSE Trading Symbol: RRS Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD

GOUNKOTO DISCOVERY CONFIRMS GREAT GOLD UPSIDE IN MALI

Bamako, Mali, 30 July 2010 - Randgold Resources' recent discovery of a world-class gold deposit at Gounkoto in western Mali confirms the region's potential for further finds of this size, chief executive Mark Bristow told a media briefing here today.

Gounkoto is located 25 kilometres south of Randgold's Loulo complex, currently being expanded into a megamine with two open-pit and two underground operations. The feasibility study on Gounkoto is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, and Bristow said at this advanced stage all indications pointed to a substantial high-grade orebody with relatively simple metallurgy, capable of being converted into a low-cost, long-life open pit and underground mine.

"We have always said that this region had the prospectivity to become one of Africa's key gold addresses and Gounkoto - along with the continuing expansion of Loulo itself and the discovery of other prospects such as Massawa, which is across the border in Senegal but part of the same structure - has confirmed this belief," Bristow said.

"Mali still holds enormous potential for further gold discoveries for those who are bold enough to invest in the region. It is with this in mind that we have built a substantial infrastructure at Loulo, capable of serving as a hub for a growing gold mining industry around it."

Bristow noted that since its establishment 15 years ago Randgold Resources had been built into a substantial African business which had attracted investment from the world's primary capital markets into the development of Africa's mineral resources. The company also owns the Morila mine in Mali and is currently commissioning a new mine at Tongon in the Côte d'Ivoire. It also has a 45% stake in the Kibali project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of Africa's largest undeveloped gold deposits.

"Randgold has a philosophy of partnership with its host countries and it is pleasing to note that our own growth has been accompanied by significant progress in the development of the West African region and more recently the beginnings of a similar transformation in Central Africa as well. Mali has been a leader both in political democratisation and in the creation of a stable, business-friendly environment capable of attracting fixed foreign investment in its mining industry," Bristow said.

Speaking at the same briefing, Randgold's general manager for Mali, Mahamadou Samaké, said the company had a long record of delivering value for all its stakeholders, including the governments and people of its host countries. "The challenge for governments is to match our own investment in and long-term commitment to the development of sustainably profitable mining industries capable of generating economic benefits for all their people," he said.

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