Randgold spells out requirements

Brendan Ryan | Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:46

[miningmx.com] -- RANDGOLD Resources expected governments to make fair rules and to stick to them, according to CEO Mark Bristow.

Addressing the Mining Indaba Conference being held in Cape Town on Tuesday, Bristow added governments should provide an enabling platform for doing business which included the provision of basic infrastructure.

He said the successful development of mining projects in Africa required partnerships between government and mining companies that were prepared to make long-term commitments.

He commented, “we see mining in Africa as entirely consistent with our long-term vision but many investors seem to view Africa as a wild place.

“Because of that they want instant gratification to offset the perceived risk. I think governments have gotten used to this and are also asking for an early pay day.

“That is not good for us or for Africa. Investors, mining companies and stakeholders such as governments, local communities and local businesses all need to understand they are in it for the long run.”

Bristow said the Moto – now renamed Kibali – project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) met all Randgold’s investment criteria.

“What counts is the fundamental quality of the asset. It has to be a world class orebody which Kibali is.

“If you are looking at an orebody that needs a high gold price to be viable then my attitude is that it will not be a sustainable operation.”

Randgold is due to provide a detailed update on Kibali to shareholders with its December quarter and 2009 annual financial results which will be released on February 8.

Ahead of this Bristow told the conference that he expected it would take two years to build a gold mine at Kibali.

“We are pretty comfortable with what we have found there. We have identified all the key strategic risks and have a clear plan for managing all of them.” he commented.

He said the key factor on the development critical path was the relocation programme for the communities living on top of the gold asset.

Randgold has management control of Kibali and has AngloGold Ashanti as its joint venture partner in the project.

In an earlier presentation AngloGold CEO Mark Cutifani commented “we are very pleased with the work that Mark and his team have done in the DRC and are very happy with our relationship with Randgold.”

Cutifani stressed the future potential of gold mining in Africa and commented, “if you are not positioned to be in Africa for the next 20 years then you should be doing something other than mining.”