9th Nov 2005 08:44
Randgold Resources Ld09 November 2005 RANDGOLD RESOURCES' NEW MINE SHIPS FIRST COMMERCIAL GOLD Bamako, Mali, 9 November 2005 (LSE:RRS)(Nasdaq:GOLD) - London and Nasdaqlisted gold miner Randgold Resources' new mine at Loulo yesterday shipped itsfirst commercial consignment of bullion, a week ahead of schedule and four daysbefore its official opening by Malian president Amadou Toumani Toure on 12November. The consignment of 8 710 fine ounces of gold, valued at some US$4 million,signals the successful completion of the mine's build-up to commercialproduction, a process which started when it poured its first gold on 28September. The mine plans to ship bullion on a weekly basis from now on. Chief executive Dr Mark Bristow said the first shipment was originally scheduledfor mid-November but with gold stock accumulating at the mine it was decide tobring this forward. "It's another major milestone for Loulo," he said. "Whenyou start earning revenue, you know you have a real business." While the open-pit operation at Loulo, which has been designed to produce morethan 200 000 ounces of gold per year, is brought to full capacity, work alsocontinues on the development of a complementary underground mine which willsignificantly increase the life and value of the Loulo project. Loulo is the second world-class gold mine discovered and developed by RandgoldResources in Mali within five years. The first, Morila, has produced almost 3.5million ounces of gold since it was commissioned in October 2000. RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES:Chief Executive Financial Director Investor & Media RelationsDr Mark Bristow Roger Williams Kathy du Plessis+44 (0)779 775 2288 +44 (0)791 709 8939 +27 (0)11 728 4701 +223 675 0122 +223 675 0109 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. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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