TIDMRRS
RNS Number : 7285T
Randgold Resources Ld
16 October 2017
RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED
Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands
Reg. No. 62686
LSE Trading Symbol: RRS
NASDAQ Trading Symbol: GOLD
KIBALI ON TRACK AS IT PREPARES FOR COMPLETION OF UNDERGROUND
MINE
Kinshasa, DRC, 16 October 2017 - The Kibali gold mine remains on
track to achieve its production target of 610 000 ounces this year
as its underground operations and the integration and automation of
the vertical shaft enters the final commissioning and automation
stage, Randgold Resources chief executive Mark Bristow said here
today. The mine is anticipating a significant increase in
production once the final shaft commissioning, which remains on a
tight schedule, has been completed.
At a briefing for local media, Bristow said in spite of the high
level of activity at the mine, there had been a significant
improvement in the safety statistics, with its total injury
frequency rate continuing to decrease and lost time injury
frequency rate down to 0.31 per million hours worked in the
September quarter.
Following the anticipated completion of the underground mine in
the fourth quarter, the only major capital project still in the
works would be Kibali's third new hydropower station, currently
being constructed by an all-Congolese contracting team. Bristow
said the availability of self-generated hydropower and the mine's
high degree of mechanisation and automation were important factors
in Kibali's ability to sustain its profitability throughout the ups
and downs of the gold price cycle.
To date, over $2 billion has been spent on acquiring and
developing Kibali, of which the majority had been paid out in the
form of taxes, permits, infrastructure and payments to local
contractors and suppliers.
"With capital expenditure tapering off, Kibali should now be
preparing to pay back the loans taken to fund its development. We
are concerned, however, that its ability to do so will be impeded
by the increasing amount of debt - currently standing at over $200
million - owed to the mine by the government. TVA refunds, excess
taxes and royalties in violation of the country's mining code, make
up the bulk of this amount," Bristow said.
Another troubling development was the recent re-introduction to
parliament by the Ministry of Mines of a proposed new mining code
which is exactly the same as the one the government withdrew in
2015 after it was comprehensively demonstrated that it would
seriously damage or even destroy the Congolese mining industry.
"Randgold has proven and continues to prove that it is committed
to the DRC and to the development of a gold mining industry capable
of making a substantial and lasting contribution to the country's
economy. Despite all the challenges, including the volatile
political climate and a deteriorating economy, we continue to
invest here. Our exploration teams are searching for our next big
discovery in the greenstone belt of the north-eastern DRC. In line
with our local supply strategy, Kibali spent approximately $40
million with Congolese contractors in the past three months alone.
We are developing substantial agribusiness and other community
projects. And perhaps most important, we invest in the training and
empowering of Congolese nationals, who already make up most of the
Kibali management team, thus making a contribution of incalculable
value to the expansion of the country's skills base," Bristow
said.
"The DRC has all the materials for building a sustainable mining
industry but that will require a fully committed partnership
between the government on the one hand and the mining companies on
the other. Despite recent indications to the contrary, we remain
confident that such a partnership is within reach, and that the
government will see the critical importance of maintaining a
stable, investor-friendly fiscal and regulatory environment for the
country's mining sector. In this regard, we would welcome the
opportunity to work with the government in jointly selecting an
independent group of experts to benchmark the DRC mining code and
its fiscal framework and to model the impact of the new proposed
code, which we believe will be damaging to the development of the
industry."
ENQUIRIES:
Mark Bristow Willem Jacobs Kathy du Plessis
Kibali chairman Randgold GM operations Randgold investor
& Randgold CEO Central & East Africa & media relations
+44 788 071 1386 +243 820 678 040 +44 20 7557 7738
/ randgold@dpapr.com
Graham Shuttleworth Cyrille Mutombo
Randgold financial Randgold country Website:
director manager DRC www.randgoldresources.com
+44 779 771 1338 +243 990 104 774
/ +243 815 842 990
ABOUT KIBALI:
The Kibali gold mine is located in the northeast of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), approximately 300 kilometres to
the east of Isiro, the capital of the Haut-Uele Province, 180
kilometres west of the Ugandan border town of Arua and 1 800
kilometres from the Kenyan port of Mombasa. Kibali and its
associated mining permits is owned by Kibali Goldmines SA (Kibali)
which is a joint venture company between Randgold (45%), AngloGold
Ashanti Limited (45%) and SOKIMO (10%). First gold was poured in
the third quarter of 2013 from open pit operations and underground
operations are expected to be fully commissioned in 2017. The mine
was developed and is operated by Randgold.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for
the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed
in this news release are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933 and Section
21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and applicable
Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the
future price of gold, the estimation of mineral reserves and
resources, the realisation of mineral reserve estimates, the timing
and amount of estimated future production, costs of production,
reserve determination and reserve conversion rates. Generally,
these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as 'will', 'plans', 'expects' or
'does not expect', 'is expected', 'budget', 'scheduled',
'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates' or 'does not
anticipate', or 'believes', or variations of such words and phrases
or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could',
'would', 'might' or 'will be taken', 'occur' or 'be achieved'.
Assumptions upon which such forward-looking statements are based
are in turn based on factors and events that are not within the
control of Randgold Resources Limited ('Randgold') and there is no
assurance they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements
are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity,
performance or achievements of Randgold to be materially different
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to: risks related to mining operations,
including political risks and instability and risks related to
international operations, actual results of current exploration
activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, changes in project
parameters as plans continue to be refined, as well as those
factors discussed in Randgold's filings with the US Securities and
Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'). Although Randgold has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be
as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance
that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Randgold does not undertake
to update any forward-looking statements herein, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US
INVESTORS: The SEC permits companies, in their filings with the
SEC, to disclose only proven and probable ore reserves. We use
certain terms in this report, such as 'resources', that the SEC
does not 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 our resources will ever be converted into
reserves which qualify as 'proven and probable 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 Exchange
END
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