Randgold Resources (GOLD, RRS.L), in its annual report, said it is strongly placed for further growth after a year in which it drove production and profit to record heights. The company added that it is rapidly advancing its further growth projects and examining new joint-venture opportunities generated by stress in the gold mining industry's junior sector.
According to Chief Executive, Mark Bristow, despite last year's capital expenditure of $562.3 million, mainly on Kibali, Randgold's cash and gold on hand at the end of 2012 totaled $403 million, meaning it is well placed to fund its future growth.
"Our exploration teams are hunting for additional resources for our mines as well as fresh targets that will produce our next big discovery. Throughout the group, we will sustain a strong emphasis on growing production and containing costs, and our overall objective remains the creation and delivery of value to all our stakeholders," Bristow added.
At the corporate level, the company is looking at joint venture opportunities generated by the current state of the industry. Also, Randgold plans to continue to work with the governments of its host countries, guided by its partnership philosophy, to head off short-sighted changes to their mining codes.
In a separate press release, Randgold Resources reported that it had increased its attributable reserves in 2012, despite their depletion from mining in a year that delivered record production. At the same time, the company continued to improve its overall reserve grade. Randgold's annual mineral resource and reserve declaration shows total attributable mineral reserve ounces up by 803 000 to 16.36 million.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com