TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The joint venture (JV) Kibali mine, in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is on track to beat its 600 000 oz production guidance for this year.

The mine, a JV between Randgold Resources, AngloGold Ashanti and DRC State-owned mining company Société des Mines d’Or de Kilo-Moto, ranked as one of the largest gold mines in Africa.

It had a reserve base of 11.6-million ounces and comprised an integrated openpit and underground operation, as well as a 7.2-million-tonne-a-year processing plant. Production from the project’s openpit started in September 2013.

The underground mine would include a twin decline and single-shaft vertical system and four hydropower stations supported by a thermal power station for low rainfall periods and to provide back-up power.

Randgold on Friday reported that it had recently completed sinking the vertical shaft ahead of schedule, marking a significant advance in developing the underground mine that would complement Kibali’s existing openpit operation. The other remaining capital projects were also making good progress, with the mine’s second hydropower station in the process of commissioning the first of two phases.

“With the mine settling down, we have been able to intensify our focus on sustainability issues such as the mine’s ISO certifications in the field of the environment, health and safety,” CEO Mark Bristow stated in a quarterly mine update.

SOCIAL INVESTMENT
Despite tough market conditions, Kibali was also moving forward with investments in a substantial local economic development programme, which included introducing the region’s first free-to-air television station, an entrepreneurship training programme led by the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business and a local economic development facility to provide loans to smallholding farmers and local entrepreneurs.

Randgold had also lodged a proposal on developing a palm oil business in the region with the DRC government and an 82 ha maize project trial had been successfully started.

Bristow said he hoped that both these projects would be backed by the State and that the government would also roll out more support for Kibali’s efforts to promote economic activity in this remote and deprived region. He noted that the delay in implementing the DRC’s current move to a more federal structure was causing some dysfunction in the provincial administration and appealed for this issue to be addressed.

“Together with the other mining companies operating in the DRC, we applaud the government’s decision to take another look at the proposed changes to the country’s mining code, which, in our view, are deeply flawed. The DRC possesses enormous mineral resources and has the potential to become one of Africa’s wealthiest countries. With the drop in commodity prices, however, international capital providers will need the security of a transparent and equitable mining code before they invest further in what we believe could grow into a world-class mining industry,” he said.