JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – With the Tongon gold mine, in Côte d’Ivoire, operating to plan, West Africa-focused gold miner Randgold Resources has shifted its focus to the discovery of additional reserves and resources.
Tongon continued to ramp up production, tracking the 2017 output target of 285 000 oz of gold, CEO Mark Bristow said in a statement on Monday.
In line with this, the company is seeking to replace depleted ounces and extend the mine’s life beyond its current four-year horizon.
Bristow previously highlighted the high resource potential of the exploration programme at Tongon.
Meanwhile, with eyes on what Bristow described as potentially the most exciting gold prospect in West Africa, the company’s exploration programmes have defined a large target at Boundiali in the Fonondara corridor.
“The company has just completed its yearly review of its exploration targets . . . [which also] highlighted very positive results from its other holdings in the country, underlining again Côte d’Ivoire’s exceptional prospectivity,” Bristow said.