Randgold Resources on track to bring Kibali to production

Randgold Resources boss Mark Bristow said on Thursday the miner's first priority was to pour first gold at its Kibali project in the Democratic Republic of Congo before the end of 2013.

He said the company was well placed to achieve its targets.

Cash and gold of $403m at the end of 2012 will help the company fund the project along with other developments, including the ramp-up of production at the flagship Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali.

"Our exploration teams are hunting for additional resources for our mines as well as fresh targets that will produce our next big discovery," Bristow said.

"Throughout the group, we will sustain a strong emphasis on growing production and containing costs, and our overall objective remains the creation and delivery of value to all our stakeholders."

At the same time, the company announced it increased its attributable reserves.

Randgold's 2012 mineral resource and reserve declaration showed total attributable mineral reserve ounces up by 803,000 to 16.36m.

The group reserve grade grew from 3.84 to 3.87 grams per tonne (g/t), while total attributable resources were down from 28.25m to 27.21m ounces.

"It's also worth noting that we haven't used the higher gold price to boost our ounces," said General Manager Rod Quick.

"For the second year running, we have calculated our reserves at a relatively conservative $1,000/oz of gold while our resources have been estimated at $1,500/oz."

At Kibali total reserves stand at 10.92m oz at 4.10g/t, up from 10.21m oz at 4.04g/t. Loulo underground reserves have increased by 90,000 oz despite mining depletion.

The news comes after the company last month reported its annual results which showed a 16% increase in profit and 14% rise in production.

Underpinning the results was production at Loulo, where the group reported that production had exceeded its yearly target, delivering 503,224 oz.

Shares rose 0.79% to 5,715p at 09:44 Thursday.

RD