Randgold Resources expects gold production to drop

Gold miner Randgold Resources today said its production for the year may fall about 5% from its original target as it announced that profit almost doubled in the second quarter.

On Monday, the London-listed miner cut its output target for its flagship Loulo mine in Mali by 5-10%.

Outlining the output from three of the group's mines, chief executive Mark Bristow said: "The increased contribution from Tongon will almost make up for the expected shortfall from Loulo, while Morila is holding steady."

"We're therefore forecasting attributable production to be within 5% of the 477,000 ounces we gave as our guidance at the beginning of the year."

Profit for the second quarter rose to $36.4 million (£22.97 million) as higher gold prices outweighed lower production and was lifted by the sale of shares in Volta Resources.

Randgold also said today that it plans to bring the start of construction at the Kibali project in the Democratic Republic of Congo forward by six months to the middle of next year.