Randgold profit rises as boss lifts lid on Mali coup tensions
RANDGOLD Resources chief executive Mark Bristow yesterday told how he had dug in at his company’s Mali headquarters as the country teetered on the brink of civil war.
The South African said that he was leading by example and could not leave his staff to face the crisis engulfing the country alone.
“I had to show leadership qualities that’s what a good CEO does. Life and limb was not threatened in the end and we had contact with the country’s leaders.” He said that the company’s mining operation was left untouched and has recently benefited from a drop in tax. However the coup dented the FTSE 100 gold miner’s shares as investors became jittery.
The company said yesterday that profit for the firm’s first quarter rose to $104m (£64.2m), more than double that in the 2011 period but down on the previous quarter’s $145m – due to an expected fall as it mined lower-grade ore at its Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali.
Bristow said the coup in March had had no impact on the figures.