3rd Nov 2005 07:02
Randgold Resources Ld03 November 2005 RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITEDIncorporated in Jersey, Channel IslandsReg. No. 62686LSE Trading Symbol: RRSNasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD LOULO PREPARES TO SHIP FIRST BULLION;EQUITY OFFERING TO STRENGTHEN BALANCE SHEET London, 3 November 2005 (LSE:RRS)(Nasdaq:GOLD) - London and Nasdaq listedgold miner Randgold Resources' new mine at Loulo in Mali will ship its firstcommercial consignment of bullion later this month after the successfulcommissioning of the first phase of the plant, the company said today. Reporting an increased profit of US$9.2 million for the third quarter (Q2:US$7.1 million) and of US$28.5 million for the nine months to September (2004:US$3.6 million) the company said throughput at the Loulo plant was currentlybeing raised to design levels and the mine was steadily being brought intocommercial production. Selective mining and ore stockpiling has been inprogress since May, ahead of the mill start-up, and the first gold was poured on27 September. Work on the second phase of the development is underway, with thecompletion of the hard rock crushing circuit scheduled for the first quarter of2006. Meanwhile the Randgold Resources board has approved the development of anunderground mine at Loulo to complement the original open-pit operation. Anintegrated plan to optimise the value of the combined open-pit and undergroundoperations is scheduled for completion within the next three months. The company's other mine, the Morila joint-venture in Mali, posted good resultsfor the September quarter. Tonnage and grade were maintained in spite of astrike by the mining contractor's workers, and plant throughput exceeded onemillion tonnes - up 60 000 tonnes on the previous quarter. The consistent plantperformance enabled Morila to produce 172 901 ounces of gold, a 7 542-ounceimprovement on the June quarter. On the exploration front, fieldwork in West Africa has resumed after the annualbreak for the wet season. In East Africa, field activities were acceleratedduring this period and good progress has been made. The company has recentlyconcluded a joint-venture agreement with the government of Tanzania to developnew mineral deposits in the Kiabakari Maji-Moto region. Included in theagreement are the Buhemba South and Kiabakari prospecting licences. The latterincludes the old Kiabakari mine and adds an advanced project to RandgoldResources' portfolio. A busy final quarter has been planned, with drilling at Loulo, Sitakili, Selouand Morila as well as in Senegal and Tanzania. At Loulo the focus is onresource conversion and on identifying new resources. At nearby Sitakili, afirstphase reconnaissance drilling programme has been designed to probesignificant gold in porphyry intrusives identified through field mapping andsampling. In the Morila region, a hyperspectral study is being undertaken for thedevelopment of a three-dimensional model and the identification of drillingtargets for 2006. In Senegal, four permits now consolidate the company'sgroundholding on the Sabodala belt, where two targets have been earmarked forfurther work. In Burkina Faso, the emphasis has been on building a country model and in Ghana,fieldwork will start once government has approved pending applications. The company said that in view of the postponement of elections in Cote d'Ivoire,it did not expect to start work on the final feasibility study on its Tongonproject until the political situation stabilises. On 1 November 2005, the company priced a fully marketed global equity offeringof 7 500 000 ordinary shares and American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") at US$13.50per share. The underwriters have been granted an over-allotment option byRandgold Resources to purchase up to 1 125 000 additional ordinary shares. Thefunds will be used for the development of the Loulo underground mine, the Tongonpre-feasiblity study and new business opportunities. With its extensive exploration portfolio, and a strengthened balance sheet, thecompany is now well-placed to continue with its development projects. 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 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, development of Loulo and estimates of resource, reserves and mine life.For a discussion on such risk factors, refer to the annual report on Form 20-Ffor the year ended 31 December 2004, which was field with the SecuritiesExchange Commission on 30 June 2004. Randgold Resources assumes no obligationto update information in this release. Cautionary Note to US Investor: TheUnited States Securities Exchange Commission (The "SEC") permits companies, intheir filings with the SEC, to disclosedisclose only proven and probable orereserves. We use certain terms in this release, such as "resources", that theSEC does not recognise and strictly prohibits us from including in our filingswith the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part 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. A registration statement relating to the securities offered in the globaloffering has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.This release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of anoffer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state orjurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful priorto registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state orjurisdiction. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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