Randgold Resources Ld: Ivory Coast major opportunity for gold investors

JERSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS--(Marketwired - Oct 28, 2013) -

 Randgold Resources Ltd.
(LSE: RRS) (NASDAQ: GOLD)

Randgold Resources Ltd.
Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands
Reg. No. 62686
LSE Trading Symbol: RRS
NASDAQ Trading Symbol: GOLD

COTE D'IVOIRE PRESENTS MAJOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOLD INVESTORS

Tongon, Cote d'Ivoire, 26 October 2013 - Cote d'Ivoire has the
potential to become one of Sub-Saharan Africa's key exploration
destinations if its government and mining companies join in a long term
commitment to the development of a sustainable mining industry in the
country, says Randgold Resources chief executive Mark Bristow.

At a media briefing here, Bristow said the Cote d'Ivoire was highly
prospective for gold and other metals but underexplored relative to
some of its West African peers. In addition, it had arguably the most
advanced infrastructure in the region - a key consideration for
investors - as well as a competent civil service. To exploit these
advantages, the Ivorian government should ensure that its mining code,
currently under review, remains investor-friendly and that it acts as a
partner to the mining companies in the creation of long term economic
value to benefit all stakeholders.

Randgold owns and operates Cote d'Ivoire's largest gold mine at Tongon
and Bristow said the company's geologists were aggressively exploring
its portfolio of 15 permits elsewhere in the country for further
multi-million ounce gold deposits. Tongon, which went into production
at the end of 2010, has already produced more than 600 000 ounces of
gold and contributed more than US$50 million to the State in the form
of royalties and taxes. The mine was commissioned amid the unrest that
followed the disputed outcome of the presidential election and
initially suffered from an erratic power supply from the Ivorian grid
as well as some plant start-up issues. These were being addressed
through a number of plant expansion and upgrade projects, Bristow said,
and the mine's performance was steadily improving.

Tongon's positive impact on the Ivorian economy was not confined to its
contribution to the state coffers, Bristow said. Randgold's local
employment policy had directly created almost 1800 jobs at the mine
while its training programmes had significantly increased the country's
technical skills base. The mine had also developed a market for goods
and services from local suppliers."In line with our partnership philosophy,
we regard the local community
as an important stakeholder in Tongon, and since the start we have
worked closely with our community on projects designed to improve
education and health, and to support agriculture. As part of this
programme, I'll be handing over a tractor, a water tower, three
teachers' houses and three more classrooms to our neighbouring
villages. As with all the preceding projects, we'll be monitoring
these to ensure that the villages get the full benefit from them," he
said.

RANDGOLD ENQUIRIES

Chief executive  Group regional manager   Investor & media relations
Mark Bristow     West Africa              Kathy du Plessis
+44 788 071 1386 Mahamadou Samake         +44 20 7557 7738
+223 66 75 01 22 +223 66 75 61 36         Email:randgold@dpapr.com
                 +223 20 20 16 94

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 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 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

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