29th Mar 2005 10:00
Randgold Resources Ld29 March 2005 Randgold Resources Limited Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands Reg. No. 62686 LSE Trading Symbol: RRS Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD RANDGOLD RESOURCES FORECASTS STRONG GROWTH FOR 2005 London, 29 March 2005 (LSE:RRS)(NASDAQ:GOLD) - London and Nasdaq listed goldminer Randgold Resources has forecast strong organic growth in 2005 with its newmine at Loulo scheduled to go into production and the hunt continuing forfurther substantial deposits in six African countries. In the company's annual report for 2004, published today, chief executive DrMark Bristow said production from its Morila joint venture was expected toexceed 600 000 ounces this year at a cost of US$200/oz while Loulo, due to pourits first gold in July, was slated to contribute 100 000 ounces at US$230/oz. "Our priority for 2005 is to bring the Loulo mine into production as planned.At the same time, we are continuing to expand the resource there through deepdrilling, and we are progressing the economic study to the point where we canmake a thoroughly informed decision about the development of an undergroundoperation to extend the open-pit mine currently being completed," Bristow said.The report notes that the Loulo resource is already at the 8 million ounce markand is continuing to expand. "We will keep up the pressure at Morila to ensure that the recent recovery issustained and that the mine meets its production targets. And in ourwell-entrenched positions in Africa's major gold belts, we will continue thehunt for plus 2 million ounce deposits." Bristow said the company underpins its growth through its proven organic growthstrategy but at the same time remains alert to deals that could add toshareholder value. "The best way to create value is through discovery, as our record shows. Thekey component of our growth strategy is therefore an aggressive explorationprogramme, designed to discover profitable ounces and build a well-balancedportfolio," he said. "Over the past year we again delivered on our promise to expand our countryexposure and project portfolio throughout the major gold belts of east and westAfrica. We now have a groundholding of 8 700km(2) and 115 targets in sixcountries, in five of which exploration and drilling programmes are currentlyunder way. Aside from the work being done at and around Morila and Loulo inMali, we are active in Tanzania, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Ghana." The company also has an advanced project at Tongon in the Cote d'Ivoire, whichhas been on hold since the outbreak of civil unrest in that country. Bristownoted that the Tongon feasibility study was currently being updated inanticipation of a return to stability. Also in the annual report, chairman Philippe Lietard noted that the company hadcash resources of almost US$80 million and was securely positioned to fund itsexploration programmes and the equity portion of the Loulo development, as wellas to pursue corporate opportunities. "In fact, one of the defining characteristics of Randgold Resources is itscapacity to continue investing substantially in its future growth," he said. 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) 83266 5847 [email protected] Website: www.randgoldresources.com The Randgold Resources 2004 Annual Report and 10 Year Review are now availableand have been mailed to shareholders. An electronic copy of the report can bedownloaded from the company website www.randgoldresources.com. If you wish toreceive a printed copy, please send your details to Kathy du Plessis [email protected] or by fax to +27 11 728 2547. 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 forwardlooking 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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