Randgold produces record results amidst raging Malian civil war

African gold miner Randgold Resources (LON:RRS, NASDAQ:GOLD) hit record production and profits for 2012 despite operating in the thick of a year-long rampant civil war in Mali.

Profits for the year were $511 million with 794,844 ounces of gold produced, it announced in a written statement Monday.

Since early 2012,  the Malian government has been fighting multiple secular and Islamist insurgent groups inside the country, with France sending troops in January 2013 to lead an international intervention to beat back the rebels.

Randgold operates three mines in Mali, one mine in Côte d’Ivoire and has a fifth in development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The flagship Loulo-Gounkoto complex in western Mali exceeded production for the year by delivering 503,224 ounces of gold. The Morila joint venture also beat its annual forecast with 202,513 ounces.

Côte d’Ivoire’s  Tongon mine turned out 210,615 ounces — down from 250,390 ounces the year before — due to disruptive plant stoppages and process upsets from power outages as well as lower than planned recoveries. The plant has now been restored to full production.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the development in the north-east of the Kibali mine is ahead of schedule as of January and open pit mining has dug up the first ore. It’s expected to produce it’s first gold in the fourth quarter of this year.

The company has set an annual production target of more than 1.2 million ounces of gold by 2015.

 Image: Youtube screengrab