Mali - Randgold Resources [JSE:RNG] said it produced less gold at its Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the second quarter than it did in the previous quarter due to a drop in throughput and recoveries.
Randgold reported a 19% decline in output at Kibali, which began production late last year, compared with the first quarter.
The company produced 91 137 ounces of gold in the quarter ended June 30 at the mine, down from 112 549 ounces in the first quarter.
However, Randgold which mines in Mali, Ivory Coast and DRC, reported a 41% jump in overall production at 277 283 ounces during the period, driven by output from its flagship Loulo-Gounkoto operations in Mali.
Randgold shares fell as much as 1.3% to 5080 pence in morning trade on the London Stock Exchange.
Kibali represents DRC's return to the world stage as a producer and exporter of gold. The $2.5bn joint venture between Randgold, AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] and state miner Sokimo poured its first gold in September and could eventually rank among the world's biggest.
"We expected RRS to produce 305k ounces in Q2 after 281k ounces in Q1, actual came in at 277k oz, based on recovery under-performance at Kibali as the open pit operations deal with transitional ore," Citi analyst Jon Bergtheil wrote in a note.
Randgold also said profit from mining in the quarter jumped 54% to $162.3m from a year earlier.
Randgold Resources reported a 54% jump in quarterly profit helped by the ramp-up at its Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and increased output at its Loulo-Gounkoto operations in Mali.
Analysts at Nomura said the results were broadly in line but were a slight miss at Kibali.