Nurturing the positive relations that have already been established among all relevant stakeholders of Africa-focused mining company Randgold Resources' Kibali gold mining project is a continuing exercise in maintaining the mine’s current success, says Randgold Resources CEO and project chairperson Mark Bristow.

One month after the project started production in September 2013, Bristow reported that Kibali met – and sometimes exceeded – its past targets, owing to the willingness of all parties involved to make it work.

“We were able to prove sceptics wrong, as all the stakeholders wanted this mine to succeed and cooperated energetically to achieve that goal,” he elaborated.

The mining project – which is projected to be one of the largest gold mines in Africa and is already processing at a rate of between 8 000 t/d and 11 000 t/day – is adjacent to the little town of Doko in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC's) Orientale province.

Project History
Kibali was established in October 2009 when, after a very public and hostile bidding process, Randgold Resources clinched a deal to acquire gold exploration and mining company Moto Goldmines’ share in the then Moto Gold project, making Randgold Resources and its joint venture partner, global gold mining major AngloGold Ashanti, 90% shareholders in the gold mine.

Congolese parastatal Sokimo owns the remaining 10% share in Kibali, which has been developed and is being operated by Randgold Resources under the helm of Bristow.

The Moto project covered an aggregate lease area of 1 841 km² and comprised ten mining permits. However, mining operations primarily focused only on 35 km² surrounding the mine site, where a monumental resource of 21-million ounces of gold was outlined.

Set on expanding the project and placing it on production levels higher than initially estimated, Bristow and his team initiated a process whereby most of the mine site could be used. This process started with the relocation of local communities from 14 villages surrounding the site to the new Kokiza village.

Bristow adds that, in line with Kibali’s philosophy of active and transparent engagement with all stakeholders, Randgold Resources hired local construction companies for the construction of the village and to manufacture bricks that were used while laying the foundation for the expansion of the mine site.

“The project is providing employment to about 6 000 Congolese nationals, while 12 Congolese contractors have been appointed to construct Kokiza village and maintain the recently upgraded roads around the mine,” he elaborates.

Bristow further mentions that Kokiza has basic services infrastructure, such as schools, clinics and roads and that 4 216 houses were constructed. The Kibali project also constructed a road that runs between Aru/Doko, Nzoro and Aru/Arriwara, which also links the project with major ports through neighbouring Uganda.

Project Progress
Kibali currently operates at 80% of its full oxide design capacity, highlights Bristow, adding that it is projected to produce 600 000 oz of gold a year in 2015. Next year will be the project’s first full year of production, which is forecast to produce 550 000 oz. Meanwhile, Randgold Resources has doubled Kibali’s reserves to 12-million ounces of gold and has increased its resources to more than 21-million ounces.

Meanwhile, Creamer Media’s Research Channel Africa reported in September that, at full design capacity, Kibali would comprise an integrated underground and openpit mine. The mine will have a twin-circuit sulphide and oxide plant, a throughput of 7.2 million tonnes a year, four self-constructed hydropower stations and a standby high-speed thermal power generator as backup.

Randgold Resources reports that the combined openpit and underground mining operation has an estimated life of more than 20 years.

Further, while initial projections estimated that the project would sell gold at the end of October, the project started production ahead of schedule in September.

Community Development Philosophy
Speaking at a function to mark the project’s first produced bar of gold in September, Randgold Resources operations GM: Central and East Africa Willem Jacobs said the company had learnt from its other African projects about the benefits of working with a project’s host community.

“Over the lifetime of Kibali, about half of its profits will go to the DRC in the form of royalties, taxes and dividends. By next year, the project will be providing employment to more than 2 500 people on site, most of whom will comprise Congolese nationals.

“In addition to our locals-first employment policy, we also give preference to sourcing our goods and services from local suppliers, which spreads the economic benefit of our activities even wider,” added Jacobs.

The project also trained about a hundred Congolese nationals at Randgold Resource’s Mali and Côte d’Ivoire operations.

These projects include the Loulo and Gounkoto mines – also known as the Loulo-Gounkoto complex – in the west of Mali, on the border of Senegal. In the third quarter of 2013, the complex increased its gold production by 36% to a record 165 146 oz.

The Morila mine project is also based in Mali. It was discovered, developed and financed by Randgold Resources, which also operates the project. The Morila project registered a 35% lower profit in the third quarter of the year, compared with the previous quarter, as it heads towards closure. 

Meanwhile, at the mining company’s Côte d’Ivoire-based Tongon mine increased throughput in the third quarter was offset by lower recoveries and, with the drop in the gold price, registered a 22% decrease in mining profit. The recovery rate is expected to improve with the implementation of enhanced unit processes and improved efficiencies.