2nd Aug 2005 13:00
Randgold Resources Ld02 August 2005 RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITEDIncorporated in Jersey, Channel IslandsReg. No. 62686LSE Trading Symbol: RRSNasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD LOULO DEVELOPMENT MARKS FURTHER MAJOR INVESTMENT IN MALI BY RANDGOLD RESOURCES London, 2 August 2005 - The commissioning of the new Loulo gold mine, due togo into production later this month, is another landmark in Randgold Resources'dynamic relationship with the government and people of Mali, says chiefexecutive Dr Mark Bristow. "We are proud to have played a significant part in developing Mali into thethird-largest gold producer on the African continent and thus to have made amajor contribution to its economy. This mutually beneficial partnership issecurely based on our confidence in the country and our productive workingrelationship with its mining and fiscal authorities," Bristow said. The first phase of the Loulo project - an opencast mining operation - is beingdeveloped at a cost of US$89 million, excluding power, finance costs, workingcapital and exploration. Planning of an underground operation, which shouldincrease the value and life of the mine, is currently being finalised, withshaftsinking provisionally scheduled for next year. On a stand alone basis, thedevelopment of an underground mine will require a further investment of someUS$100 million to take it to steady-state production. Loulo is the second world-class gold mine to have been developed in Mali byRandgold Resources. The first was Morila, which since it went into productionin October 2000 has produced more than 3 million ounces of gold. Morilarepresents an initial capital investment of US$105 million and has to datereturned US$376 million to its shareholders, which include the government ofMali with a 20% interest. It has contributed a further US$450 million to theMalian economy through royalties, taxes, payments to local suppliers, andsalaries and wages. Prior to the development of Morila, Randgold Resources acquired the Syama minefrom BHP and spent US$63 million on modernising and expanding it in the lateNineties. When the gold price collapsed in 2001, Randgold Resources investedsignificant funds to preserve Syama by placing it on care and maintenance, andlast year sold it to a new operator. TENDING THE MORILA ASSET FOR ALL ITS STAKEHOLDERS London, 2 August 2005 - The Morila mine has richly rewarded all itsstakeholders and they should now make a strong commitment to the continuedpreservation of this major national asset. Randgold Resources discovered anddeveloped Morila and owns 40% of the joint-venture operation. In the June quarter, Morila's production profile continued to improve with plantthroughput 12% higher than in the previous quarter and gold output of 165 359ounces in line with forecasts. This follows a difficult period in which themine was negatively affected by delays and difficulties with its plant expansionprogramme, as well as by the need to adjust to a lower gold grade. "Randgold Resources has been working closely with the operator of the mine toovercome these problems and to return the mine to its full production capacity.By the end of June, we appear to have achieved our immediate aims and throughputhas now been stabilised at what should be a sustainable level," says chiefexecutive Dr Mark Bristow. "However, this is by no means the end of the challenge facing the mine'smanagement. Like any precious asset, Morila has to be tended carefully or itwill lose its value. It needs a renewed commitment from all the stakeholders onsite to the preservation of that value and the realisation of Morila's fullpotential. This means a strong focus on such issues as productivity and costcontainment, as well as the maintenance of a productive and harmoniousrelationship between management and workers." RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES:Chief Executive - Dr Mark Bristow +44 779 775 2288Financial Director - Roger Williams +44 791 709 8939Investor & Media Relations - Kathy du Plessis +27 11 728 4701,Cell: +27 (0) 83 266 5847, Email: [email protected] 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 potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risksassociated with: fluctuations in the market price of gold, gold production atMorila, the development of Loulo and estimates of resources, reserves and minelife. For a discussion on such risk factors refer to the annual report on Form20-F for the year ended 31 December 2004 which was filed with the United Statessecurities and exchange commission (The 'SEC') on 29 June 2005. RandgoldResources sees no obligation to update information in this release. Cautionarynote to US investors; the SEC permits companies, in their filings with the SEC,to disclose only proven and probable ore reserves. We use certain terms in thisrelease, such as "resources", that the SEC does not recognise and strictlyprohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors arecautioned not to assume that all or any parts of our resources will ever beconverted into reserves which qualify as 'proven and probable reserves' for thepurposes of the SEC's industry guide number 7. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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