RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED
Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands
Reg. No. 62686
LSE Trading Symbol: RRS
Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD
NEW TONGON MINE POURS FIRST GOLD
Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, 8 November 2010 - Randgold Resources' new
mine at Tongon in the Cote d'Ivoire officially poured its first bar of
gold today in a ceremony attended by government representatives and
other dignitaries.
The first stream of the plant was commissioned on schedule following
the first ore being fed in the latter half of September. The second
stream is expected to be on line in December, followed by the crushing
circuit which will allow the mine to start treating sulphides in the
first quarter of 2011. First gold was derived from CIL treatment
with commercial production expected to start soon. When the plant has
been ramped up to full production, its throughput rate will be 300000
tonnes per month.
Randgold Resources' general manager of operations for West Africa,
Samba Toure, said the commissioning of the mine on time was a
significant achievement for the company's development team."Building a mine in a remote area such as this is always very
challenging, and in the case of Tongon we also had to deal with the
distraction of the political dynamics around the Ivorian presidential
election during the crucial final stage. The team took this in its
stride, however, and we still managed to bring the mine in on
schedule," he said.
Speaking from London, chief executive Mark Bristow noted that Randgold
Resources had commissioned its three existing mines at five-yearly
intervals: Morila, in Southern Mali, in October 2000; Loulo, in
Western Mali, in October 2005; and now Tongon on the 4 million ounce
gold deposit in Northern Cote d'Ivoire."We're planning to beat that cycle with our next developments. We're
fast-tracking our Gounkoto project in Western Mali and we're aiming to
start trucking ore from there to the nearby Loulo plant next year. The
massive Kibali project in the Democratic Republic of Congo is also
expected to be in production ahead of the five-year mark."
RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES:
Chief Executive Group Operations Manager Investor & Media Relations
West Africa Kathy du Plessis
Dr Mark Bristow Samba Toure +44 20 7557 7738
+44 788 071 1386 +223 66 75 77 41 randgoldresources@dpapr.com
+44 779 775 2288
Website: www.randgoldresources.com
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 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 Resources to
be materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related
to the integration of Randgold Resources 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 the section entitled 'RiskFactors' in Randgold
Resources' annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December
2009 which was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
(the 'SEC') on 31 March 2010. Although Randgold Resources 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 Resources 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