RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands Reg. No. 62686 LSE Trading Symbol: RRS Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD RANDGOLD FORGES AHEAD IN TOUGH YEAR London, 7 February 2011 - Despite operational and political setbacks in a generally challenging year, Randgold Resources boosted its profit for 2010 by 43% to US$120.6 million on the back of a stronger Q4 performance which drove up attributable production by 30% to 132 099 ounces quarter on quarter. Lifted by a rise in the gold price, Q4 gold sales were up 25% at US$145 million but would have been considerably higher had 23 428 ounces produced at the new Tongon mine not remained unsold at year end due to disruptions related to the disputed outcome of the Cote d'Ivoire elections in November. The sale of these ounces would have added US$21.7 million to annual profit. The significant improvement in profit for the year has led the board to propose an 18% increase to 20 US cents per share in the dividend. In line with current best practice, shareholders will be asked to approve the dividend at the annual general meeting. Chief executive Mark Bristow said that given the scale and complexity of the projects the company was developing, 2010 was always going to be a tough year, and it proved even more difficult than expected due to technical problems related to the expansion of the Loulo complex in Mali and the unsettled situation in Cote d'Ivoire. "In the face of these issues we nevertheless posted some substantial achievements in 2010. Tongon was commissioned on schedule despite difficult circumstances, pouring its first gold on 8 November and producing 28 126 ounces by the end of the year. We completed the feasibility study on Gounkoto, which confirmed the robustness of this project, and open-pit mining has already started there, with ore being stockpiled until the crusher station is ready by mid-year. The crushed ore will be trucked to the nearby Loulo plant for processing. The feasibility study on Kibali has been updated and this has now been rescoped as a significantly larger project, currently envisaged as a 4 million to 6 million tonnes per annum operation over an 18-year mine life. Over the next six months the focus will be on the design and engineering of the infrastructure, the plant, the decline and vertical shaft and the tailings facility. Continued good progress on the pre-development work there means we are still on track for an earlier construction start-up towards the middle of this year. In the meantime, we have also maintained our extensive exploration programmes and last quarter we had 14 rigs drilling at seven project sites in four countries," he said."Loulo had its share of problems in 2010 but its total production of 316 539 ounces for the year was in line with management's updated forecast. It is clear that the increasing complexity of its operations, and in particular the Yalea underground development, has necessitated a careful re-look at issues such as mining strategy and key service installations, and we've brought in the highly experienced Ted de Villiers in the new position of general manager - mining, to head the re-planning team." Bristow said the Loulo complex's production for 2011 was expected to be in line with the forecast of 420 000 to 440 000 ounces, of which approximately 120 000 ounces should be contributed by Gounkoto in the second half of the year. Underground production will be significantly impacted in the first quarter while the Yalea redesign is being completed. Development of Gara, the second underground mine at Loulo, is continuing and ore tonnes from this operation are expected to build up from the second quarter. The joint venture at Morila, now a retreatment operation, is expected to produce around 200 000 to 210 000 ounces in 2011 while Tongon should contribute 260 000 to 270 000 ounces, provided the political situation in Cote d'Ivoire does not impact on the mine much longer. "On the basis of these projections, Randgold Resources' group production for 2011 is forecast to be between 750000 and 790 000 ounces, which represents an increase of more than 70% on last year. Management is targeting total cash costs per ounce, after royalties and taxes, of less than US$600 per ounce for the group, assuming the oil price, Euro-Dollar exchange rate and other input costs remain at current levels," Bristow said. RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES: Chief Executive Financial Director Investor & Media Relations Mark Bristow Graham Shuttleworth Kathy du Plessis +44 788 071 1386 +44 1534 735 333 +44 20 7557 7738 +44 779 775 2288 +44 779 771 1338 Email: randgoldresources@dpapr.com Website: www.randgoldresources.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REPORT FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2010 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: . Profit up 43% year on year and 14% on previous quarter . Attributable production up 30% quarter on quarter but down 10% year on year . Mining commences at Gounkoto after feasibility study confirms robust project . Deeper drilling at Gounkoto points to increased underground potential supported by a positive preliminary economic assessment . Updated Kibali feasibility study confirms larger project and midyear construction start-up . Tongon ramps up production on first stream despite challenges in Cote d'Ivoire . Loulo hedge commitments completed - full exposure to gold spot price going forward . New executive to implement revised mining plan at Loulo . Group attributable production forecast to increase by 70% in 2011 . Proposed dividend increase of 18% Randgold Resources Limited ('Randgold') had 91 million shares in issue at 31 December 2010 Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the associated PDF document. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7383A_1-2011-2-4.pdf This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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