21st Apr 2005 09:00
Randgold Resources Ld21 April 2005 Randgold Resources Limited Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands Reg. No. 62686 LSE Trading Symbol: RRS Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD DEEP DRILLING AT LOULO BOOSTS RESOURCE BASE Zurich, Thursday 21 April 2005 - London and Nasdaq listed gold miner RandgoldResources said today its attributable resource base had grown by more than 20%from less than 8 million ounces at the end of 2003 to 10.02 million ounces ayear later. Addressing the European Gold Forum in Zurich, Randgold Resources CEO Dr MarkBristow said the main contributor to the increase at the company's Loulo projectin Mali had been deep drilling of the Yalea orebody where total measured,indicated and inferred resources now stood at 5.2 million ounces for that orebody alone. Total resources for the project, when Loulo 0 is included, are now arobust 8 million ounces. The ongoing drilling forms part of a study, currentlybeing completed by SRK Consulting, on the development of underground operationson both orebodies to boost the Loulo open-cast mine which was scheduled to startproducing gold in July this year, he said. At the company's Morila joint venture, also in Mali, drilling of the MSZextension to the main orebody has resulted in the partial replacement of theresources depleted by the mining operation during the year. More drilling isplanned to convert the additional resources to the reserve category. Overall, the company's attributable reserves increased slightly to 2.51 millionounces, mainly on the back of an increase in the Loulo reserve from 1.42 millionounces to 1.85 million ounces. Significantly, the higher-confidenceproved-reserve category makes up 66% of attributable proved and probablereserves. "The substantial resource growth at Yalea has vindicated the company's highexpectations of the Loulo project and we are still bullish on the prospects offinding more in this region," said Bristow. "The orebody has passed the 5 million ounce mark and is still growing,construction of the open-cast mine is on schedule and the latest drillingresults confirm the potential for the development of long-life underground minesto exploit the extensions of the Yalea and Loulo 0 pits. Meanwhile, we are alsoexpanding our footprint in other prospective areas to further increase ourresource base through organic growth," he said. ABRIDGED ANNUAL RESOURCE AND RESERVE DECLARATION(at 31 December 2004) Category Tonnes Grade Gold Attributable (Mt) (g/t) (Mozs) Gold (Mozs) Mineral Resources MorilaMeasured and Indicated 29.28 3.20 3.01 1.20Inferred 4.47 3.79 0.54 .22 Sub-total 33.75 3.28 3.55 1.42Measured, Indicated and Inferred LouloMeasured and Indicated 23.34 3.95 4.21 3.37Inferred 26.31 4.53 3.83 3.06 Sub-total 59.48 4.20 8.04 6.43Measured, Indicated and Inferred Tongon Sub-total 34.00 2.65 2.89 2.17Inferred Total ResourcesMeasured and Indicated 52.62 4.27 7.22 4.57Inferred 64.79 3.49 7.27 5.45Measured, Indicated and Inferred 117.41 3.84 14.49 10.02 Ore Reserves Morila 25.79 3.11 2.58 1.03Proved and Probable Loulo 15.18 3.78 1.85 1.48Proved and Probable Total Ore Reserves 40.97 3.36 4.42 2.51Proved and Probable RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES: Chief Executive - Dr Mark Bristow +44 779 775 2288 Financial Director - Roger Williams +44 791 709 8939 Investor & Media Relations - Kathy du Plessis +27 11 728 4701, Cell: +27 (0) 83 266 [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 2003, which was filed with the United StatesSecurities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on 30 June 2004. RandgoldResources 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 use certainterms in this release, such as "resources", that the SEC does not recognise andstrictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors arecautioned not to assume that all or any part 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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