RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED
Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands
Reg. No. 62686
LSE Trading Symbol: RRS
Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD
SUSTAINED FOCUS ON ORGANIC GROWTH DELIVERS RISE IN RESERVES AND
RESOURCES FOR EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
London, 31 March 2011 - Randgold Resources Limited (Randgold) today
reported a 5% increase in its attributable mineral resources and
reserves for the year to December 2010, after mining depletion and
adjustments based on ongoing exploration and evaluation programmes.
This was the eighth successive annual increase in the company's
attributable resources and reserves and chief executive Mark Bristow
said that this escalation had again underlined the effectiveness of
Randgold's key strategy of achieving organic growth through exploration
success and creating value through the development of profitable mining
projects. He cited the recent discovery of Gounkoto and the continued
expansion of mineral reserves at its Kibali joint venture project as
major contributors to the increased size and enhanced quality of the
Randgold asset base.
Randgold's annual mineral resource and reserve declaration, published
as part of its 2010 annual report today, shows that at the attributable
level, measured and indicated mineral resources rose from 20.64 million
ounces to 21.77 million ounces over the year, while inferred mineral
resources increased from 6.69 to 7.00 million ounces. This is mainly
due to the delineation of new mineral resources at Gounkoto and
Massawa. Attributable proven and probable mineral reserves grew from
15.56 million ounces to 16.39 million ounces without reducing the
overall mineral reserve grade year on year. This was largely due to
the ongoing conversion of mineral resources to reserves at Gounkoto,
Kibali and Massawa.
Bristow noted that the recently completed feasibility study at Gounkoto
had only considered the open pit and that encouraging grades at depth
pointed towards further potential. An underground scoping study is
planned for completion this year. Drilling at Kibali to date had also
not taken into account the number of high grade extensions down plunge
of the KCD deposit or the adjacent underground deposits of Gorumbwa and
Agbarabo. At Yalea, continued underground drilling immediately above
the high grade 'purple patch' had identified better than forecast
grade, indicating the potential for an additional 200 000 ounces at
8g/t. Continued drilling in this area was expected to deliver additional
ounces along the length of the purple patch, he said.
Exploration continued elsewhere on the Loulo permit and the potential
from the satellite targets within a 10 kilometre radius of the plant is
estimated at 270 000 ounces."Excluding Morila, which is now only processing
stockpiles and Massawa
which is still at feasibility study stage, the average grade of our
reserves remained above 4g/t, with Loulo, Gounkoto and Kibali all
comfortably above that mark. This means that we not only managed to
increase the size of our reserve and resource base during a challenging
phase in the company's development, but were able to maintain and
enhance the quality of our mineral assets. It's also worth noting that
we haven't been tempted to use the increased price of gold to boost our
ounces - they've been calculated at a relatively conservative USUSD800/
oz gold price while still taking cognisance of higher input costs. Our
mineral resources have been estimated at USUSD1200/oz. This is real
growth, framed within realistic parameters and based on viable business
plans," said Bristow.
RESOURCE AND RESERVE DECLARATION at 31 December 2010(abridged)
Tonnes Grade Gold Attributable
Mine/project Category (Mt) (g/t) (Moz) Gold (Moz)
MINERAL RESOURCES
Kibali 45%
Measured and
Indicated 123.96 3.40 13.54 6.09
Inferred 58.64 2.60 4.91 2.21
Loulo 80%
Measured and
Indicated 60.74 4.51 8.81 7.04
Inferred 25.28 3.15 2.56 2.05
Gounkoto 80%
Indicated 23.24 4.84 3.62 2.89
Inferred 11.10 5.35 1.91 1.53
Morila 40%
Measured and
Indicated 12.55 1.39 0.56 0.22
Inferred 1.95 0.79 0.05 0.02
Tongon 89%
Indicated 37.26 2.75 3.29 2.93
Inferred 9.67 3.22 0.93 0.83
Massawa 83%
Indicated 34.87 2.77 3.11 2.59
Inferred 3.42 3.92 0.43 0.36
TOTAL MEASURED AND
INDICATED RESOURCES 292.62 3.50 32.92 21.77
TOTAL INFERRED RESOURCES 110.08 3.05 10.80 7.00
MINERAL RESERVES
Kibali 45%
Probable 74.32 4.21 10.05 4.52
Loulo 80%
Proven and
Probable 45.43 4.47 6.52 5.22
Gounkoto 80%
Probable 17.11 5.10 2.80 2.24
Morila 40%
Proven and
Probable 12.55 1.39 0.56 0.22
Tongon 89%
Probable 37.11 2.46 2.94 2.62
Massawa 83%
Probable 17.42 3.36 1.88 1.57
TOTAL PROVEN AND
PROBABLE RESERVES 203.93 3.78 24.76 16.39
Randgold reports its mineral resources and ore reserves in accordance
with the JORC code and are equivalent to National Instrument 43-101.
The reporting of ore reserves is also in accordance with SEC Industry
Guide 7. Open pit mineral resources consist of in situ mineral
resources at a 0.5g/t cut off falling within a USUSD1 200/oz optimised
pit shell. Underground mineral resources are those mineral resources
at falling below the open pit resources reported at cut off grades of
between 1.6g/t to 2.0g/t. Open pit and underground mineral reserves
are economic at a gold price of USUSD800/oz. Dilution and ore loss are
incorporated into the calculation of reserves. Addition of individual
line items may not sum to sub totals because of the rounding off to two
decimal places. Mineral resources are inclusive of mineral reserves.
Qualified Persons:
Loulo mineral resources were calculated by Mr Chiaka Berthe, an officer
of the company, under the supervision of Mr Jonathan Kleynhans, an
officer of the company and Qualified Person. Morila mineral resources
were calculated by Mr Adama Kone, an officer of the company, under the
supervision of Mr Jonathan Kleynhans, an officer of the company and
Qualified Person. The Tongon and Massawa mineral resources were
calculated by Mr Babacar Diouf, an officer of the company and Qualified
Person. Kibali mineral resources were calculated by Mr Ernest Doh
under the supervision of Mr Jonathan Kleynhans, an officer of the
company and Qualified Person. The Gounkoto mineral resource was
calculated by Abdoulaye Ngom under the supervision of Mr Jonathan
Kleynhans, an officer of the company and Qualified Person. All mineral
resources were reviewed and approved by Mr Rodney Quick, General
Manager Evaluation and Environment and a Qualified Person.
The Loulo open pit mineral reserves were calculated by Mr Inigo Osei,
an officer of Randgold, under the supervision of Mr Onno ten Brinke, an
officer of the company and Qualified Person. Loulo underground
reserves were calculated by Mr Chris Moffat, an officer of Randgold and
Qualified Person. The Tongon mineral reserves were calculated by Mr
Samuel Baffoe, under the supervision of Mr Onno ten Brinke, an officer
of the company and Qualified Person. Gounkoto and Massawa mineral
reserves were calculated by Mr Onno ten Brinke, an officer of the
company and Qualified person. The mineral reserves of Morila were
calculated by Mr Stephen Ndede, an officer of the company and Qualified
Person. The Kibali open pit mineral reserves were calculated by Mr
Onno ten Brinke, an officer of the company and Qualified Person. The
Kibali underground mineral reserves were calculated by Mr Paul Kerr, an
officer of SRK Consulting Perth and an independent Qualified Person.
All mineral reserves were reviewed and approved by Mr Rodney Quick,
General Manager Evaluation and Environment and a Qualified Person.
Randgold has posted its annual report for the year ended 31 December
2010 to shareholders and its Form-20F for the same period is expected
to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
('SEC') today. Once published, both reports will be available on the
company's website at www.randgoldresources.com for viewing and/or
downloading. Shareholders can download a copy of the Proxy Form from
our website and those wishing to appoint a proxy via the CREST system
should do so via the issuer's agent (ID number 3RA50). Details
regarding the submission of proxies can be obtained from the Notes to
Proxy page, also on the website at www.randgoldresources.com.
RANDGOLD ENQUIRIES:
Chief Executive
Dr Mark Bristow
+44 788 071 1386
+44 779 775 2288
Financial Director
Graham Shuttleworth
+44 1534 735 333
+44 779 614 4438
GM Evaluation & Environment
Rod Quick
+223 66 74 72 57
Investor & Media Relations
Kathy du Plessis
+44 20 7557 7738
randgoldresources@dpapr.com
Website: www.randgoldresources.com
ABOUT RANDGOLD
Randgold Resources Limited (Randgold) is an African focused gold mining
and exploration company with listings on the London Stock Exchange and
on Nasdaq. Major discoveries to date include the 7.5 million ounce
Morila deposit in southern Mali, the 7 million ounce Yalea deposit and
the 5 million ounce Gounkoto deposit, both in western Mali, the 4
million ounce Tongon deposit in the Cote d'Ivoire and the 3 million
ounce Massawa deposit in eastern Senegal.
Randgold financed and built the Morila mine which since October 2000
has produced approximately 5.8 million ounces of gold and distributed
more than USUSD1.6 billion to stakeholders. It also financed and built
the Loulo operation which started as two open pit mines in November
2005. Since then, an underground mine has been developed at the Yalea
deposit and construction of a second underground operation is underway
at the Gara deposit. The company's new Tongon mine poured its first
gold on 8 November 2010.
Mining started in January 2011 at Gounkoto, another deposit on the
Loulo permit in Mali, and it is scheduled to start supplying ore to the
nearby Loulo plant in the second half of 2011. Randgold is fast
tracking Kibali in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where construction
of the mine is targeted to start mid-2011. In 2009 the company
acquired a 45% interest in the Kibali project, which now stands at
10.05 million ounces of mineral reserves and is one of the largest
undeveloped gold deposits in Africa.
Randgold also has an extensive portfolio of organic growth prospects,
which is constantly replenished by intensive exploration programmes in
Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC, Mali and Senegal.
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 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 operating the Tongon
mine in Cote d'Ivoire, the integration of Randgold and Moto, 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'), including in the section entitled'Risk
Factors' in Randgold's annual report on Form 20-F for the year
ended 31 December 2010 which is anticipated to be filed with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on 31 March 2011.
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 release, 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
Contact Information: Contacts: RNS Customer Services 0044-207797-4400 http://www.rns.com