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Randgold asks DRC to match local investment, maintain positive legal climate

20th October 2014

By: Henry Lazenby

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: North America

  

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TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – While Randgold Resources’ Kibali gold mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), continued with its scheduled ramp-up, the company on Monday appealed to the local and national governments to match the nearly $600-million investment in the local economy and maintain an investor-friendly mining code.

Randgold CEO Mark Bristow said the Congolese economy was benefiting from the Kibali investments and that the project was supporting the local economy to grow in surrounding communities. In recent months, banks, shops, service stations and mobile phone operations had been established, while health and educational resources had also been provided to towns and villages in the area.

“The enormous investment in Kibali demonstrates our long-term commitment to the DRC. We ask the national and regional governments to match that commitment by providing a fiscal and regulatory environment, which will encourage further investment, not only by Randgold, but also by other mining companies.

“The development of a robust mining industry here will be of inestimable value to the DRC and its people and, as has happened elsewhere in Africa, could become the engine that drives general economic growth,” Bristow noted.

The country's government was currently reviewing the DRC mining code and Bristow urged authorities to produce an investor-friendly result, noting that the existing code was already skewed in the State’s favour in comparison with the mining codes of the surrounding African countries competing for investment. He added that troublesome issues, such as access to new ground and the continuing problem of illegal mining, should be addressed effectively.

In a speech to the Geological Society at the University of Kinshasa on Monday, Bristow explained that the optimal exploitation of the DRC’s mineral wealth would require an integral partnership between the mining industry and the government, which was applicable to all emerging countries.

“During the recent gold price boom throughout the world, both parties were guilty of seeking short-term gains instead of using it as an opportunity to build sustainable, profitable mining businesses. We must now urgently reconsider our complementary roles in extracting the maximum value from what are major national assets, ensuring that the proceeds are shared fairly by all the stakeholders,” he expressed.

Randgold reported that the Kibali gold mine was approaching an operational steady state as it continued to ramp up mining and production at about 650 000 oz/y over the next decade.

The Kibali joint venture comprises Randgold, with 45%, AngloGold Ashanti, with 45%, and DRC State-owned mining company Société des Mines d’Or de Kilo-Moto, which has a 10% stake.

Bristow noted that the quarter to June had seen significant advances in the mine’s development, including commissioning the first of four hydropower plants, completing the secondary crushing, flotation and concentrate recovery circuits, and accessing underground ore.

The emphasis was now on completing development of the underground mine, commissioning the second hydropower plant and fine-tuning the process to ensure that it consistently achieved its design targets.

Another focus area was the appointment of further Congolese nationals to the Kibali management team.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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