While operations at LSE- and Nasdaq-listed Randgold Resources’ Tongon mine, in Côte d’Ivoire, have returned to normal on Wednesday, the company has revised the mine’s full-year production guidance downward to 230 000 oz of gold.
It previously expected the mine to produce 290 000 oz of gold this year.
Randgold CE Mark Bristow pointed out that, despite the setbacks at Tongon, the overall group production outlook remained within the guidance given at the start of the year albeit towards the lower end of the range.
Randgold on Wednesday lifted the lock-out imposed on workers after a protracted illegal strike that started in July.
During the lock-out period, management, senior employees and a skeleton crew prepared Tongon for production to resume by servicing the processing facilities, including relining the mills, as well as maintaining the tailings storage facility and access to the two opencast operations.
The mine is now fully operational and the phased return of the full employee complement is expected to be complete by the weekend.
The company and employees have also agreed that the previous discussions, aimed at finally ending the occasional industrial unrest at the mine, should be resumed.