5th Feb 2008 09:53
Randgold Resources Ld05 February 2008 RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITEDIncorporated in Jersey, Channel IslandReg. No. 62686LSE Trading Symbol: RRSNasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD PIONEERING SPIRIT NEEDED TO BUILD PROSPEROUS ECONOMIES ON AFRICA'S MINERALWEALTH, SAYS BRISTOW Cape Town, South Africa, 5 February 2008 (LSE:RRS) (Nasdaq:GOLD) - For Africato prosper from its mineral wealth it must urgently set out to use the miningindustry as the foundation for building its economies, Randgold Resources chiefexecutive Mark Bristow told the Mining Indaba here today. To succeed in this,he said, government and mining industry leaders would have to cooperate anddemonstrate the vision, courage and perseverance of true pioneers. Bristow said mining companies operating in Africa had to accept that they had anobligation greater than the need to enrich investors. They also had a socialresponsibility to help the people of those countries realise their hopes of abetter life. "We must plan for and commit to the long run. Instead of creating exaggeratedexpectations around projects that are marginal at best, we should concentrate onthe development of realistic business models and viable feasibility studies. Weshould reinvest for sustainability. We should deal with our host governmentsnot only as regulators but as partners," he said. "As for the governments, it is their responsibility to maintain a fiscal andlegislative regime that is conducive to mining development, to play their partin infrastructure creation and, not least, to share the wealth equitably withtheir people, making sure the revenues they earn from the mining industry areused to make a tangible contribution to infrastructural development and theupliftment of the communities in which the mines operate." Bristow said an analysis of the fiscal and mineral rights regimes in mostAfrican countries had shown that the state typically ends up with half of allmining income. "Governments are not always completely upfront about the substantial extent oftheir participation in the earnings generated by mining and this lack oftransparency contributes to the misperception that all mining companies aregreedy exploiters of their host countries," he said. Randgold Resources believed in creating sustainable profitability by investingin partnerships and people, he said. This approach had enabled the company todiscover three world-class deposits, build two big mines and proceed with thedevelopment of a third. In addition, extensive exploration has generated aportfolio of organic growth projects that could well produce its fourth mine. "We've created real value for all our stakeholders. Our unwavering focus onsustainability has given us the capacity to increase our production andtherefore our profits. And that in turn means that we can continue to invest inour future," he said. RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES:Chief Executive Financial Director Investor & Media RelationsDr Mark Bristow Graham Shuttleworth Kathy du Plessis+44 788 071 1386 +44 779 614 4438 +44 20 7557 7738+223 675 0122 +44 20 7557 7730 Email: [email protected] Website: www.randgoldresources.com DISCLAIMER: Statements made in this document with respect to RandgoldResources' current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statementsthat are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the futureperformance of Randgold Resources. These statements are based on management'sassumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it.Randgold Resources cautions you that a number of important risks anduncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from thosediscussed in the forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not placeundue reliance on them. The potential risks and uncertainties include, amongothers, risks associated with: fluctuations in the market price of gold, goldproduction at Morila and Loulo, the development of Loulo and estimates ofresources, reserves and mine life. For a discussion on such risk factors referto the annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2006 which wasfiled with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on25 June 2007. Randgold Resources sees no obligation to update information inthis release. Cautionary note to US investors; the 'SEC' permits companies, intheir filings with the 'SEC', to disclose only proven and probable ore reserves.We use certain terms in this release, such as "resources", that the 'SEC' doesnot recognise 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:
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