London-listed gold miner Randgold Resources says the $3-million or so it spent on its failed bid for Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields was well worth it.
“You could spend $15-million on searching for new gold ounces without finding anything and Ashanti offered the opportunity for 26 million ounces in new resources. It was a chance worth taking and we came quite close,” said Randgold Resources CEO Dr Mark Bristow.
The public exposure generated from the bid was also worth it, he added.
Randgold Resources’ key asset is a 40% stake in the Morila mine in Mali, which it shares with world number two gold producer AngloGold, which has a 40% stake, and the Mali government, which has 20%.
AngloGold is currently merging with Ashanti.
Last week Randgold Resources announced it would invest $80-million in its Loulo project, also in Mali, which comes online in 2005.
During the current year Bristow sees Randgold Resources in a consolidation phase. – I-Net Bridge