Randgold Resources on the way to meet 2016 production tagets

Randgold Resources is on track to meet its revised production targets for 2016, the gold miner’s boss said on Friday.

Chief executive Mark Bristow said the team at the Tongon gold mine in the Côte d'Ivoire have stabilised the crushing circuit, minimised the disruption grid power supply and implemented a maintenance plan.

He said that the “these actions have supported a continuing upward trend in the mine's throughput and recovery rates and hence in gold production at a lower cost”.

The Tongon mine is now expected hit its target of 260,000 ounces of gold for 2016 and is anticipated to produce 285,000 ounces in 2017 and then produce about 290,000 ounces per year for three years.

Bristow said: "With Tongon now running smoothly, we're focusing on extending the life of the mine by finding additional resources and reserves in the extensions to the current orebodies, the satellites around the mine and other targets within trucking distance."

For the FTSE 100 company’s other sites in the Côte d'Ivoire, Bristow said that progress was being made at the Mankono permit and new targets have been defined within the Boundiali belt.

Shares in Randgold Resources were down 0.07% to 6,810p at 1126 GMT.