After the ceremonial opening of Kibali gold mine by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) Mines Minister two months ago, developer and operator Rangold Resources said last week that, despite dealing with some ramp-up issues, the mine was on track to produce 550 000 oz of gold in 2014.

The LSE- and Nasdaq-listed Africa-focused miner’s CEO, Mark Bristow, said Kibali was still a work in progress and was dealing with the challenges to be expected in ramping up a mine of its size and complexity.

“The current focus is on ensuring that the metallurgical plant will achieve its designed throughput and recovery rates, and with the secondary sulphide circuit now being commissioned and optimised, we’re almost there. We have also completed the Nzoro hydropower facility, with the first two turbines running and the remaining two expected in the third quarter. The focus is now on synchronising it with the diesel power plant,” he said.

While openpit mining was proceeding as planned, development of the underground mine was also progressing well and the first ore was accessed slightly ahead of schedule. “It’s worth noting that, despite the scale and pace of the on-site activities, Kibali is maintaining its exemplary safety record, with only one lost-time injury in the first six months of the year,” Bristow said in a prepared statement.

Kibali has agreed with the provincial governor on a public works programme for the running of Kokiza, the model town established to accommodate the villagers resettled from the site. The programme has the support of all stakeholders. Bristow said the Catholic Church, the last project in the resettlement programme, was scheduled to be completed in the current quarter.

He added that Randgold, along with Kibali’s management, continued to engage in a dialogue with the DRC government regarding the country’s mining code and had been assured that the official undertakings given to the project’s investors would be respected in any revision.

“The DRC’s gold mining industry is still in its infancy and requires patient nurturing for its enormous potential to be fully realised. Kibali’s success could be used as a foundation on which to encourage further investment and open a new mining frontier to rival the copper- rich Katanga province, but only if the DRC maintains an investor- friendly fiscal and regulatory regime,” Bristow noted.