[miningmx.com] — RANDGOLD Resources on Monday revised its full year production downwards after abnormal rainfall in Mali impacted on production.
Randgold’s annual production guidance for the year has been revised from between 750,000 and 790,000 ounces to between 740,000 and 760,000 ounces on a consolidated basis.
Even with the downward revision of the full year production target, Randgold Resources should still record a 68% to 73% increase in output after the company produced 440,000 ounces in 2010.
CEO Mark Bristow said more than 400mm of rain had fallen in the past 12 days, which was equivalent to about 40% of the region’s annual precipitation. Of this rainfall in excess of 300mm fell within a six day period.
Believed to be a one-in-a-hundred-year event, this has swamped the pumping capacity in the Gara and Gounkoto pits and affected the mining schedule at its Loulo/Gounkoto gold mining complex.
The impact of the abnormal rains had been exacerbated by heavy rainfall in the Guinea catchment area of the Faleme River, which ran through the complex, resulting in the haulage and service roads between the Gounkoto mine and the Loulo plant being cut off.
“We have managed to open up a longer alternate route to supply the Gounkoto operation with explosives and diesel, and although we are mining the upper benches at both Gara and Gounkoto, it is going to take a couple of weeks to drain the bottom of the pits and re-establish ore production in the high grade sections of the orebodies,” said Bristow.
He said that there was enough stockpiled ore at Loulo to keep the plant running at full capacity but the rain-imposed limitations on mining had reduced the flexibility of the feed grade.
This situation was expected to be resolved by the middle of September, provided there were no more abnormally heavy rains.
However, as a result of the past fortnight’s rain, third quarter production would be lower than expected, with the team now aiming to exceed the 80,000 ounces it achieved at the Loulo/Gounkoto complex last quarter, instead of the planned target of 100,000 ounces.
“Provided the Loulo mining schedule and supply routes get back to normal during September, fourth quarter production is expected to get back to planned levels,” Bristow said.
