JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – While there are challenges related to mining in Africa, there are even more opportunities open to those with the vision to grasp them, gold miner Randgold Resources CE Mark Bristow said on Monday.

Speaking at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada's International Convention, Trade Show and Investors Exchange, in Toronto, Bristow said the depletion of traditional gold mining regions was forcing miners to return to highly prospective emerging countries previously regarded as too risky.

"If you want to hunt elephants, you have to go to elephant country, and if you want to find world-class gold deposits, Africa is a very good place to look.  West and Central Africa now rank high among the world's premier gold destinations," he said.

Bristow further noted that during the 30 years he had been involved in mining in Africa he had seen great changes in the continent.

“Slowly but steadily, if sometimes painfully, it is emerging from centuries of exploitation and oppression as its people increasingly demand economic and political freedom, and accountability from their leaders. 

“I am proud that in its way, Randgold has pointed to what can be achieved here. Born and raised in Africa, run by Africans and focused entirely on African assets, Randgold has become a truly world-class company, listed on the LSE and Nasdaq, part of the FTSE 100, with some of the leading global funds as its shareholders," Bristow added.

He also cautioned prospective investors in Africa that securing their social licence to do business on the continent was as important as getting the technical and financial aspects of a project right.

Randgold's success in Africa, Bristow said, would not have been possible without its partnership philosophy, which recognised host countries and their people as stakeholders in the company.

“Mining should be seen as a force for good, which converts national assets into sustainable economic benefits, in close cooperation with governments and communities," he said.

Bristow also warned that the search for new multimillion-ounce gold deposits was being hampered by the trend of junior mining companies neglecting their traditional role as explorers to focus on developing marginal assets. 

He said it would be better for the gold mining industry and for African mining countries if the juniors stopped trying to be developers of marginal assets and reverted to being explorers and entrepreneurs with a focus on finding “world-class” deposits.