All key pre-production targets set for 2010 have been met by the Kibali development team and the giant gold project is on track for the start-up of construction by the middle of the year, six months earlier than originally scheduled. Mark Bristow, chief executive of project manager and joint owner Randgold Resources, said in Kinshasa yesterday that the active participation and support of a wide range of interest groups, including the local community, the regional and national governments and the Catholic Church, were a key factor in the continuing steady progress of the project.

This co-operation has among other things been instrumental in the successful finalisation of the public participation process regarding the Relocation Action Programme (RAP), a sensitive and complex exercise that involves the relocation of some 3,800 families. The implementation of the RAP is already under way, with the acquisition from the State of the site for a new town, to be known as Kokiza, as well as farmland. Model homes have been built and the process of house selection by each of the families involved has started. Kibali and the Catholic Church have signed a protocol in terms of which the local church will be moved from the mine site to the new town so that it may remain at the heart of the resettled community.

Co-operation from the local community and the authorities has also enabled Kibali to end all illegal and informal mining on the project site, helping to clear it fully for the construction phase. The construction camp’s design has consequently been completed and its components have been ordered. The project’s government partner, OKIMO, has ceased its own operations within the site area and its assets there have been acquired by Kibali.

The company and its partners continue to work with the local community to alleviate the loss of income derived from informal mining. Alternative work programs have already been created and these include the production of basic building materials to be used for the construction of the RAP houses as well as the mine.

Progress on other fronts includes the substantial upgrading of the regional infrastructure through the completion ahead of schedule of the roads between Aru/Doko, Nzoro and Aru/Arriwara  –  the latter being a contribution towards the president’s priority fund aimed at improving infrastructure. The completion of these roads has already directly benefited the local communities by improving the availability of basic goods and therefore significantly cutting their cost of living. The Aru/Doko road is particularly significant as it links Kibali with international ports.

In the meantime, the feasibility study on Kibali has been updated and rescoped.  The results of this exercise will be reported with the Randgold Resources 2010 year end results to be released on 7 February 2011. Randgold acquired a 45% interest in the Kibali project in 2009. Reserves now stand at 9.2 Moz and it is one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Africa.