GOLD
May 2014
MODERN MINING
29
the first 12 years of its life – which currently
extends to 2031.
The two-stream metallurgical plant is
designed to treat 7,2 Mt/a and includes two
ball mills with a capacity of 465 t/h, 11 CIL
tanks and 2 x 6 flotation tank trains. There is
one lined Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) for
cyanide-treated ore and an unlined TSF for
sulphide ore.
The open-pit mine consists of the main KCD
pit, with eight satellite pits also in the mine
plan, while the underground mine is accessed
by a twin decline which was completed at
the end of last year (reaching a total of 3 948
development metres). The declines will be
supplemented by a vertical shaft system which
will be sunk to 860 m and have a capacity of
3,6 Mt/a. It is scheduled for handover in 2016.
The mine in full production will require
47 MW of power. The four hydropower plants
will only be able to provide peak output during
the wet season so 36 diesel gensets will sup-
plement their output. All the hydro plants are
expected to be complete by 2016.
The opening of Kibali represents the revival
of the famed Kilo-Moto goldfield which was
exploited during the Belgian colonial era. The
Belgians operated at least two shafts and a
number of open pits in the Kibali area which
reached peak production in the 1950s. After the
DRC became independent in 1960, production
declined and ceased altogether (at least on a
formal basis) in the 1990s. Randgold acquired
the Kibali property in 2009 via its acquisition
of Moto Goldmines.
Kibali lies in a remote part of the north-
eastern DRC, 150 km from the Ugandan border
town of Arua and 1 800 km from the Kenyan
port of Mombasa. Access was difficult when
Randgold first took over the project and the
company and its partners have had to invest in
considerable roadworks – the re-establishment
of the Arua-Doko road and more than 500 km
of additional roads – to facilitate development
of the mine.
Speaking at the opening, Randgold’s out-
going Chairman Philippe Liétard said the
successful development of Kibali in the face
of many infrastructural and other challenges
was a triumph for the company’s partnership
philosophy.
“Here we have shown what can be achieved
in Africa when we all work together: a gov-
ernment that understands the importance of
attracting and retaining the investments that
are necessary to build a modern economy; two
mining companies that believe in sharing the
value they create with all their stakeholders,
Development of the under-
ground mine remains on
track with the vertical shaft
reaching the halfway mark
and the first underground
ore accessed. Stoping
should begin by the end of
2014.
especially the local community; a labour
force that is eager to grasp the opportunity of
working and learning; and a people who have
welcomed us and supported our endeavours,”
Liétard said.
Also at the opening, Randgold CEO Mark
Bristow said the successful development of
Kibali could herald the birth of a new DRC eco-
nomic region to rival Katanga Province.
“To achieve that, we cannot rest here. We
need to ensure that we deliver the returns
expected by the investors who entrusted us
with their money. We have to run a profit-
able mine, focused on long term viability, that
pays taxes, and employs and develops citizens
from this region and this country. Kibali must
become the catalyst that triggers the additional
investment required to grow a strong regional
economy,” he said.
“Wishful thinking will not make this hap-
pen. But if we continue to work together as
partners pursuing a common goal – if mining
companies, the government and communities
cooperate as we did in the development of
Kibali – then this dream of greater things will
also come true.”
AngloGold Ashanti Chief Executive
Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said that for
Kibali’s full potential to be realised it was of the
utmost importance that the DRC’s mining code
remained supportive of the gold mining sector.
“The government now has an important oppor-
tunity to show the world that it is welcoming
of gold mining by helping to create what can
in a short time become one of the largest gold
producers in the world and an engine of growth
for this region and this country,” he said.
Photos courtesy of Randgold Resources
“Kibali must
become the
catalyst that
triggers the
additional
investment
required to grow
a strong regional
economy.”
Mark Bristow of
Randgold Resources
