8th May 2006 07:01
Randgold Resources Ld08 May 2006 RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITEDIncorporated in Jersey, Channel IslandsReg. No. 62686LSE Trading Symbol: RRSNasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD RANDGOLD RESOURCES SUSTAINS FAST PACE IN ANOTHER HIGH-PERFORMANCE QUARTER London, UK, 8 May 2006 (LSE:RRS)(Nasdaq:GOLD) - London and Nasdaq listed goldminer Randgold Resources posted a solid net profit of US$13 million for theMarch quarter on the back of an increase in profit from mining to US$33 million,resulting from its new Loulo gold mine and a higher gold price. Reporting its results today, the company said the second phase of the Louloplant - threatened with derailment by a defaulting contractor - was back ontrack for completion towards the end of the second quarter. Meanwhile Loulo'sPhase 1 throughput, recoveries and costs before additional costs relating totemporary crushing were in line with expectations, and production of 64 677ounces in the mine's first full quarter of operation was on target. Planning for the underground developments to complement Loulo's existingopen-pit operations progressed with the completion of the detailed design andproduction scheduling of the Yalea underground section. A contractor will beappointed next month and main decline development is due to start towards theend of 2006, with the first stoping ore likely to be accessed by the end of2007. The underground development plan for, the Loulo 0 section is receivingits finishing touches as well. The company's Morila joint venture also put in a good performance, with theplant expansion reaching the designed throughput for the first time. This 11%increase in throughput partially compensated for the expected grade decline andproduction for the quarter was a satisfactory 135 779 ounces. Chief executive Dr Mark Bristow said a particularly significant aspect of whathad generally been a challenging but good quarter was the increase to 56% in thereserve-to-resource ratio at Loulo. "While the discovery of new ounces is important, it's the conversion of theseresources to reserves that is really critical in creating value. We have beenvery successful in converting the Yalea resources to reserves as a result of thedeep drilling programme and the completion of the detailed underground mineplan," he said. Exploration within the Loulo region continued to highlight thepotential for further extensions to the known orebodies as well as identifyingnew deposits. Reserve replacement was also achieved at Morila, where an infill and resourceextension drilling programme has produced an additional 510 000 ounces ofreserves and has increased the proportion of reserves in the higher-confidenceproven category from 50% to 70%. Bristow noted that much of the depletion ofthe resource through mining in 2005 had been replaced by the year-end and saidthe positive results from the Morila exploration initiative had confirmed thecompany's belief in the further prospectivity of this area. The prefeasibility-stage Tongon project in the Cote d'Ivoire, which has thepotential to become Randgold Resources' third mine, is being revived inanticipation of that country's return to political stability following thegeneral elections scheduled for later this year. A Randgold Resources team hasmoved onto site to finalise plans for a 10-borehole tactical drilling projectwhich will form the basis for planning the final feasibility drilling programme.If the outcome to the elections is satisfactory, the company plans to completethe final feasibility study within two years. In the meantime it has beengranted two new permits in the south of the country and has started early-stagereconnaissance work there. Maintaining its strong focus on exploration, Randgold Resources is set to drillin seven project areas in five countries. In addition to the continuing huntfor new ounces at and around Loulo and Morila, and the tactical programme atTongon, several additional targets have been lined up for drilling in Senegalwhile a four-hole drilling programme has been completed at Kiabakari inTanzania. The company is also progressing early stage exploration programmes inBurkina Faso and Ghana. RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES: Chief Executive Financial Director Investor & Media RelationsDr Mark Bristow Roger Williams Kathy du Plessis+44 779 775 2288 +44 791 709 8939 +27 11 728 4701+27 82 800 4293 +27 83 308 9989 Fax: +27 11 728 2547*+223 675 0122 +223 675 0109 Cell: +27 (0) 83 266 5847 Email: randgoldresources@dpapr.com Website: www.randgoldresources.com DISCLAIMER: Statements made in this document with respect to Randgold Resources'current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that arenot historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performanceof Randgold Resources. These statements are based on management's assumptionsand beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. RandgoldResources cautions you that a number of important risks and uncertainties couldcause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in theforward-looking statements, and therefore you should not place undue reliance onthem. The 2005 annual report notes that the financial statements do not reflectany provisions or other adjustments that might arise from the claims and legalprocess initiated by Loulo against MDM and a purported counterclaim by MDM.Other potential risks and uncertainties include risks associated with:fluctuations in the market price of gold, gold production at Morila, thedevelopment of Loulo and estimates of resources, reserves and mine life. For adiscussion on such other risk factors refer to the annual report on Form 20-Ffor the year ended 31 December 2004 which was filed in amended form with theUnited States Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on 27 October 2005.Randgold Resources assumes no obligation to update information in this release.Cautionary note to US investors: the 'SEC' permits companies, in their filingswith the 'SEC', to disclose only proven and probable ore reserves. We usecertain terms in this release, such as "resources", that the 'SEC' does notrecognise and strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the 'SEC'. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any parts of ourresources will ever be converted into reserves which qualify as 'proven andprobable reserves' for the purposes of the SEC's Industry Guide number 7. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Randgold Resources