INTERVIEW: RANDGOLD RESOURCES
subsistence farming but it’s about how do we take subsistence activities and convert them into real economic businesses that have a margin.” To boost the local economy generally, the complex will fund a microfinance provider to help finance small business initiatives, particularly those started by the women in the community.
Illegal mining
One of the issues Randgold still has to address together is the challenge of illegal mining, which impacts on Loulo-Gounkoto’s capacity to deliver these benefits and threatens the integrity of Mali’s vitally important national assets, damaging the environment and exploiting sectors of the community. Illegal mining is “the scourge of Africa,” says Mark Bristow, leading to, child labour, enslavement of women and massive environmental degradation.
Randgold Facts Box
Major Randgold discoveries to date include the 7.5Moz Morila deposit in southern Mali, the 7Moz Yalea deposit and the 5.5Moz Gounkoto deposit, both in western Mali, the 4Moz Tongon deposit in the Côte d’Ivoire and the 3Moz Massawa deposit in eastern Senegal.
Loulo-Gounkoto is managed and operated by an almost entirely Malian team, with the country’s nationals
19 INTERNATIONAL MINING ENGINEER
Randgold financed and built the Morila mine which, since October 2000, has produced more than 6Moz of gold and distributed more than US$2 billion to stakeholders. It also financed and built the Loulo operation which started as two open pit mines in November 2005. Since then, two underground
mines have been developed at the Yalea and Gara deposits. The company’s Tongon mine in Côte d’Ivoire poured its first gold in November 2010. Gounkoto, south of Loulo, delivered first ore to the Loulo plant in June 2011 and paid its first dividends to shareholders in mid-2012.
In 2009, the company acquired a 45% interest in the Kibali project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which at 12Moz of mineral reserves is one of the largest gold deposits in Africa. Gold production started in the third quarter of 2013, ahead of schedule.
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