JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London- and Nasdaq-listed gold-mining company Randgold Resources has four new gold mines under development, the company said on Tuesday.

The four mines being developed are the Gounkoto project in Mali, the Tongon mine in Côte d'Ivoire, the Massawa project in Senegal and the Kibali - formerly known as Moto - in the Democratic Republic of Congo, acquired this year in partnership with gold-mining major AngloGold Ashanti.

Randgold Resources CEO Dr Mark Bristow said, in presenting the September quarter results, that the company would fasttrack its Gounkoto project after a scoping study and first resource declaration confirmed robust economics well in excess of the company's hurdle rates.

A prefeasibility study on the project, situated just 25 km south of the company's flagship Loulo complex in Mali, has been scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

The scoping study estimated an inferred mineral resource of 2,65-million ounces of gold at a grade of 6,3g/t, with pit optimisations at gold prices of $650/oz and $850/oz both showing internal rates of return of more than 60%.

Bristow said that while 2009 was proving to be a tough operating year for the company - which was substantially expanding its flagship Loulo complex and which had converted the Morila joint venture into a stockpile treatment operation - it was also delivering significant rewards owing to the outstanding performance of its exploration and project teams and success on the new business front.

The company reported gold sales of $103,5-million for the September quarter, similar to second-quarter sales but up 32% on the corresponding period for 2008.

However, with total cash costs rising 17% to $68,2-million, profit for the quarter was only $13,6-million against the previous quarter's $18,9-million and a loss of $684 000 for the corresponding period in 2008.

Costs for the quarter were impacted on by higher openpit and underground mining costs at Loulo and by Morila's full transition from mining to stockpile processing.

Loulo produced 86 940 oz of gold at a total cash cost of $591/oz, compared with 87 261 oz at $483/oz in quarter two.

The cost increase was mainly attributable to the mobilisation of a second mining contractor and the mining of additional lower-grade volumes from the open pit as a result of the slower-than-expected ramp-up in tonnage from the Yalea underground operation.

During the quarter Loulo produced its millionth ounce of gold.

Water control and ventilation issues hampered the development and operating performance of Loulo's Yalea underground mine but remedial steps have been taken to correct this.

During the quarter, work started on the boxcut for Gara, which will be Loulo's second underground mine.

In its first full quarter as a pure stockpile processor, the pioneering Morila mine in Mali, which is now in the late states of contribution, produced 79 963 oz of gold at a total cash cost of $525/oz, compared with 86 061 oz at $463/oz in the second quarter.

The company said that the operation was maintaining its drive to contain costs and to ensure that it remains a strong cash generator until its closure, currently scheduled for 2013.

The mine also continued to work on a feasibility study to establish a sustainable agribusiness for the local community.

In Côte d'Ivoire, the development of the Tongon mine is ahead of schedule. During the quarter, the government's interministerial commission approved the mining licence, clearing the way for the formalisation of the mining convention.

Since the end of the quarter, Randgold and AngloGold Ashanti have completed their acquisition of Moto Goldmines.

They have since announced an agreement to purchase an additional 20% stake in the Moto project from the Congolese parastatal Okimo.

Following this, the two companies will together own 90% of the project.

Randgold has sold its interest in the Kiaka project in Burkina Faso to Volta Resources for C$4-million in cash and 20-million shares in Volta. It will retain an interest in the upside of the project through its equity holding in Volta.

KIBALI

Following the completion of the Moto acquisition, the Randgold Resources team is filling the gaps in the feasibility study on the project - renamed Kibali - to bring it into production as quickly as possible.

First up is a review of the geological model. "This is the foundation on which everything is based and so our initial objective is a geological blitz in which all surface and underground mapping and historical data will be integrated with the drill data to develop a three-dimensional model. Resource and reserve updates will continue during this period," says group GM project development and environment Rod Quick.

By January 2010, the company believes that it will be in a position to give a timeline for the development of the project.

During 2010, the team will be looking at optimising the present feasibility, including re-estimating resources and reserves in the light of the revised geological model.

Kibali is one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Africa. A feasibility study completed earlier this year envisages an openpit and underground mining operation with probable mineral reserves of 5,5-million ounces, which is planned to produce some 2,4-million ounces of gold in its first five years.