The company said on Thursday that net profit for the period to end-June rose to $38,4-million, up from $19,6-million in 2007. A net profit of $20,2-million for the second quarter was up 11% on the previous quarter, and up 196% on the corresponding quarter in 2007.

The profit increase was attributed to higher production at the Loulo gold mine and at the Morila joint venture (JV), both in Mali, where Randgold Resources took over management control earlier this year, as well as to a higher received gold price, a statement on the company's website said.

Production at Loulo increased by 11% quarter-on-quarter and at Morila by 13%. While total cash costs at both operations rose, unit costs were reasonably well contained through increased production and an intensified focus on unit consumption measurements.

The company also said that the latest drilling results from its recently announced Massawa project in Senegal, had confirmed that this was a significant discovery.

"Results confirmed good continuity in geology and gold mineralisation, which supports our view that Massawa is potentially a multimillion ounces project and validates our commitment to creating value through exploration and development," CEO Mark Bristow said.

At the Tongon project in Côte d'Ivoire, currently in the early stages of development as the company's third mine, continuing infill drilling and follow-up optimisation studies completed during the quarter had resulted in a further increase of 26% in the reserve, which now stands at more than three-million ounces.

Most elements of the new mine's infrastructure have been settled and tenders from mining contractors were currently being considered, the company stated.

Bristow said the fact that the company had increased its profits, at a time when cost pressures on the mining industry were intensifying, demonstrated its commitment to protecting and improving its margins.

"We aim to achieve this by growing our production and by focusing on cost control and efficiency improvement in every aspect of our operations," he said.

Bristow noted that the company's strong organic growth prospects continued to be enhanced by the success of its exploration programmes, currently operating in six African countries.

In addition to Massawa, its portfolio included a number of other advanced targets, notably Kiaka in Burkina Faso, Tiasso in the Côte d'Ivoire and Faraba, near Loulo.

These also provided the company with an accurate benchmark against which to measure the new business opportunities it continued to evaluate at corporate, project and JV levels, Bristow said.

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