Unlocking Tongon's full potential
27.01.2014 | Marketwired
JERSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS--(Marketwired - Jan 26, 2014) - Randgold Resources (
Randgold Resources Ltd.
Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands
Reg. No. 62686
LSE Trading Symbol: RRS
NASDAQ Trading Symbol: GOLD
FLOTATION EXPANSION PROJECT TO UNLOCK TONGON'S FULL POTENTIAL
Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, 25 January 2014 - Efficiency enhancement
projects at the Tongon gold mine have boosted its performance
significantly, and the planned expansion of the flotation process
should lift the recovery rate to its feasibility study level, Randgold
Resources chief executive Mark Bristow said here today. He was
speaking at a quarterly media briefing coinciding with a mine visit by
international investors.
Bristow said while Tongon had increased production, its recovery rate,
while slowly improving, was still struggling to break 80% for the
year. An additional 2% was achievable by optimising the existing
recovery circuit, but raising the recovery rate to the targeted upper
80s will require an expansion of the flotation process to capture most
of the sulphide in the ore. Initial estimates of the cost to expand
the float circuit amount to US$12 million. It is targeted for
completion by the end of 2014 with a forecast payback period of eight
to ten months."The standard CIL circuit is not recovering that portion of
the gold
associated with arsenopyrite which is bypassing the existing flash
flotation cells. The original metallurgical testwork indicated that
the bulk of the Tongon ore was amenable to cyanidation, with flash
flotation in the mill circuit recovering the gold associated with the
sulphides. In practice, however, we've seen that this process is not
recovering enough of the fine gold associated with arsenopyrite. The
expansion of the flotation circuit will address this issue by capturing
the full spectrum of sulphides," he said.
In the meantime, Tongon is forecasting production of approximately
260 000 ounces for 2014, which is an increase on 2013's gold output but
slightly behind the internal target."It has been another challenging year
for Tongon but its management has
coped admirably with the operational challenges as well as with the
need to adjust to the lower gold price. The continued optimisation of
the grid power is delivering cost savings, three of the four new
Vibracone crushers have been commissioned and the Ivorianisation of the
team is making good progress," Bristow said."Looking ahead, we remain fully
committed to Cote d'Ivoire, which we
believe has great potential for further world-class gold discoveries.
We are intent on expanding our footprint in the country but our efforts
in this regard are currently being hampered by delays in permit
approval. Randgold engaged with the government in its review of the
country's mining code and we are confident that the final draft, which
we expect to see soon, will be investor-friendly. We also hope to
resolve some outstanding issues related to the government's delivery on
our public/private power supply partnership."
Bristow noted that, despite the lower gold price, Randgold was also
maintaining its commitment to the support of community upliftment
projects and the development of the local economy. In the latest such
initiative, the company has agreed to provide seed capital and office
space to La Premiere Agence de Micro-Financement, Cote d'Ivoire, a
micro-lending institution set up to provide loan facilities to emerging
entrepreneurs in the Tongon region.
RANDGOLD ENQUIRIES
Chief executive Group regional manager Investor & media
Mark Bristow West Africa relations
Mahamadou Samake Kathy du Plessis
+44 788 071 1386 +223 66 75 61 36 +44 20 7557 7738
+223 66 75 01 22 +223 20 20 16 94 Email:randgold@dpapr.com
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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