29th Mar 2007 10:00
Randgold Resources Ld29 March 2007 RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITEDIncorporated in Jersey, Channel IslandsReg. No. 62686LSE Trading Symbol: RRSNasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD RANDGOLD RESOURCES REPORTS SIGNIFICANT RISE IN RESERVES AND RESOURCES London, United Kingdom, 29 March 2007 - London and Nasdaq listed gold minerRandgold Resources' latest resource and reserve declaration, published today aspart of its annual report for 2006, shows that the company discovered more thana million new reserve and resource ounces during the past year. Main contributor to the increase was the company's Loulo project, whereresources rose from 9.93 million ounces to 11.35 million ounces and reservesfrom 5.59 million ounces to 6.80 million over the last year. Most of thisincrease was attributable to the Gara deposit, where the underground reserve wasalmost trebled through drilling. The recently identified Faraba satellitetarget has contributed a new inferred resource of 570 000 ounces. At the attributable level, measured, indicated and inferred resources rose from11.67 million ounces at the end of 2005 to 12.55 million, while proven andprobable reserves increased from 5.42 million ounces to 6.29 million, net ofdepletion of some 400 000 ounces by mining through the year. RESOURCE AND RESERVE DECLARATION (abridged) Tonnes Grade Gold Attributable (Mt) (g/t) (Moz) goldMINE/PROJECT Category 2006 2006 2006 (Moz) MINERAL RESOURCES Morila 40% Measured and Indicated 30.04 2.61 2.52 1.01 Inferred 3.09 3.31 0.33 0.13Loulo 80% Measured and Indicated 61.77 4.64 9.22 7.37 Inferred 22.77 2.91 2.13 1.70Tongon 75% Measured and Indicated Inferred 35.96 2.69 3.11 2.33 Total Measured and Indicated 91.81 3.98 11.74 8.38 Total Inferred 61.81 2.80 5.57 4.17 ORE RESERVESMorila Proved and Probable 26.71 2.49 2.13 0.85Loulo Proved and Probable 49.14 4.30 6.80 5.44 Total Proved and Probable 75.85 3.66 8.93 6.29 Since the year-end, ongoing diamond drilling at Gara, up to 400 metres south ofthe current wireframe, has confirmed the presence of additional high grade goldmineralisation associated with a blind antiformal fold closure of the hostquartz tourmaline unit. Results to date are: GARA DRILLING RESULTS Hole No. From To Inter-section Estimated Grade Including (m) (m) width (m) true width (g/t) (m)LOCP120 757.40 763.20 5.80 4.58 9.16 2.9m @ 16.66g/t from 759.10mLOCP124 551.75 558.75 7.00 5.35 17.95 1.8m @ 59.56g/t from 556.00mLOCP125 795.14 806.70 11.56 8.41 1.53 820.35 826.50 6.15 4.51 11.22LOCP126 566.25 581.53 15.28 10.81 2.25including 566.25 571.00 4.75 3.36 5.54 0.83m @ 28.10g/t from 566.25m 591.80 598.20 6.40 4.53 10.37 1.15m @ 31.90g/t from 592.75m Drilling continues to further define the dimensions of this high grade payshoot,which is open at depth and along strike. Once modelling has been completed, theGara underground mining schedule and design will be reviewed. Undergrounddevelopment is due to start at Gara in 2009 while the Yalea underground minewill produce its first ore later this year. The Gara and Yalea open-pit mineshave been in operation since the last quarter of 2005. Chief executive Mark Bristow said the sustained growth in the company's resourceand reserve base showed the success of Randgold Resources' strategy of creatingvalue through discovery and development. "Loulo was originally conceived as an open-pit operation with a relatively shortlife but through continued exploration we have already built it into a trulyworld class project with a production profile that extends beyond 15 years. Andas the latest drilling results from Gara indicate, there is still a considerablepotential for growth at this project," Bristow said. "Like our other mine Morila, Loulo is the product of our own explorationefforts. Because we maintained our investment in exploration through the troughin the gold price cycle, we have been able to build production in time tobenefit from the current high price. The underground mines being developed atLoulo, the tangible upside there and our other projects such as thefeasibility-stage Tongon give our continued growth prospects real substance." 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+44 788 071 1386 Cell: +27 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 2005 annual report notes that the financial statements do not reflectany provisions or other adjustments that might arise from the claims and legalprocess initiated by Loulo against MDM. Other potential risks and uncertaintiesinclude risks associated with: fluctuations in the market price of gold, goldproduction at Morila, the development of Loulo and estimates of resources,reserves and mine life. For a discussion on such other risk factors refer tothe annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2005 which wasfiled with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on29 June 2006. Randgold Resources assumes 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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