Randgold Resources-Gounkoto boosts Loulo complex

JERSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS--(Marketwire - Jan 24, 2012) -

RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED
Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands
Reg. No. 62686
LSE Trading Symbol: RRS
Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD


GOUNKOTO BOOSTS LOULO COMPLEX AS DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES

Loulo, Mali, 24 January 2012 - A robust contribution from the new
Gounkoto mine enhanced the capacity and flexibility of Randgold
Resources' Loulo complex to increase gold production in 2011 despite
the substantial challenges presented by the development of two
underground mines and the plant expansion.

Gounkoto accounted for a significant part of the complex's annual
production, giving Loulo the capacity to grow overall output while
getting its Yalea underground mine on track and pressing ahead with the
Gara underground development. Because it accesses the Loulo
infrastructure on a toll basis, Gounkoto is expected to recoup its
relatively low capital cost by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
This means among other things that the State of Mali, a 20%
shareholder, will get the benefit of an early dividend as well as full
ownership of its stake.

The Mali government has agreed to split the Loulo mining permit, making
Gounkoto a standalone operation. Chief executive Mark Bristow said
this was a further instance of the importance of Randgold's philosophy
of fostering mutually beneficial partnerships with its host countries.

Bristow also said the Loulo complex represented a textbook illustration
of the effectiveness of Randgold's strategy of creating value through
discovery and development, as well as of its commitment to building
sustainably profitable businesses."The complex has grown from an 800000
ounce resource to a fully
integrated, long-life opencast and underground operation, targeting
production of 500000 ounces this year. With 9 million ounces of
reserves, significant grades and a huge upside, it will be profitable
at any realistically conceivable gold price," he said.

Meanwhile, Gounkoto's contribution has enabled Randgold to implement
the drastic remedial measures it promised last year to get the
stuttering Yalea underground development on track. A new team led by
mining general manager Ted de Villiers, underground manager Mamou Toure
and operations manager George Lawrie, has completed a complete redesign
of the underground operations, addressed the geotechnical and
ventilation issues, upgraded the infrastructure and produced a solid
two-year plan to achieve all targets."Our aim is to build up the Yalea and
Gara underground ore tonnage from
the current 100000tpm to 190000tpm by the end of the year. Once
we've reached steady state in 2013, we'll be able to optimise the
development to reduce costs," says de Villiers."As we pointed out last
year, the comprehensive review of all aspects
of Yalea inevitably brought with it some short-term inflexibility which
impacted on its 2011 performance, but we're now rapidly catching up
through a much-improved development rate and the build-up of the mining
reserve. Over at Gara, meanwhile, the lessons we learned at Yalea have
helped us to keep this development on track from the start. Gara has
already accessed first ore and is well set to achieve its 2012 tonnage
target."

Bristow adds that underground mining is clearly going to be an
important leg of Randgold's business in future, and at Yalea it is not
only establishing a strong Malian team but building a core underground
skills base for the company."We believe that to operate sustainably in an
emerging country one
should develop the local people rather than rely on expatriate skills,"
he said.


RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES:

Chief Executive                         Financial Director
Mark Bristow                            Graham Shuttleworth
+44 788 071 1386                        +44 1534 735 333
+223 66 75 01 22                        +44 779 771 1338


Group Operations Manager: West Africa   Investor & Media Relations
Samba Toure                             Kathy du Plessis
+223 66 75 77 41                        +44 20 7557 7738
+223 20 20 16 94                         randgoldresources@dpapr.com 


Website:  www.randgoldresources.com 


CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for the
historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this
news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the US
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and applicable Canadian securities
legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements with respect to the future price of gold, the estimation
of mineral reserves and resources, the realisation of mineral reserve
estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs
of production, reserve determination and reserve conversion rates.
Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the
use of forward-looking terminology such as 'will', 'plans', 'expects'
or 'does not expect', 'is expected', 'budget', 'scheduled','estimates',
'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates' or 'does not
anticipate', or 'believes', or variations of such words and phrases or
state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could',
'would','might' or 'will be taken', 'occur' or 'be achieved'. Assumptions
upon
which such forward-looking statements are based are in turn based on
factors and events that are not within the control of Randgold and
there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking
statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity,
performance or achievements of Randgold to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to: risks related to the integration of
Randgold and Moto, risks related to mining operations, including
political risks and instability and risks related to international
operations, actual results of current exploration activities,
conclusions of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as
plans continue to be refined, as well as those factors discussed in the
section entitled 'Risk Factors' in Randgold's annual report on Form
20-F for the year ended 31 December 2010 which was filed with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on 31 March 2011.
Although Randgold has attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause
results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be
no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Randgold does not
undertake to update any forward-looking statements herein, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US
INVESTORS: The SEC permits companies, in their filings with the SEC,
to disclose only proven and probable ore reserves. We use certain
terms in this release, such as 'resources', that the SEC does not
recognise and strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with
the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any parts of
our resources will ever be converted into reserves which qualify as'proven
and probable reserves' for the purposes of the SEC's Industry
Guide number 7.



                    This information is provided by RNS
          The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END