JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Africa-focused London- and Nasdaq-listed Randgold Resources’ Tongon mine, in Côte d’Ivoire, had been plugged into the national power grid, making it the first Randgold mine that does not rely on self-generated electricity, CEO Mark Bristow said on Friday.

“Access to this power is a significant cost advantage to the mine, but the roll-out of the grid into the north of the country also benefits the local communities,” Bristow pointed out.

He stated that Tongon represented a triumph of Randgold’s philosophy of partnering with its host countries and noted that of the 410 people employed at Tongon, 382 were Ivorian, many of them recruited from nearby villages, while the contractors’ complement of 773 included 727 national personnel.

“This not only creates employment in remote and often deprived areas, but also transfers valuable skills, which will open up future opportunities for these people,” Bristow pointed out.

Despite operational challenges that led Randgold to revise its production outlook at Tongon for last year, the mine ended its first full year as a stabilised operation on track to achieve the planned average of 270 000 oz/y going forward.

A failure of the barring gear on the mine’s No 1 mill in November had been the main contributing factor to the company adjusting its production outlook for the mine, which is the biggest mine in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as one of the largest private-sector investments in the country.

Other challenges that had been facing the $400-million project since its inception in 2010, included the volatile environment, ramping up production while transitioning from oxide to sulphide ore treatment, as well as complexities that arose in the changeover from diesel to grid power affecting production.

Nurtured as a project through a civil war, Tongon was successfully commissioned in the final quarter of 2010 during the country’s post-election disturbances and had 90 t of gold reserves with an estimated ten-year life.
 

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