Military coup in Mali takes shine off miner Randgold Resources’ shares

Shares in FTSE 100 gold miner Randgold Resources dived by 15% this morning amid fears of a military coup in Mali where the group signed a major deal only yesterday.

Randgold, which has a large presence in the country, rushed out a statement saying it “was keeping a close watch on developments in Mali, where elements of the army appear to have mounted a coup attempt”.

It came less than 24 hours after chief executive Mark Bristow established a separate company to look after Randgold’s Gountoko mine near the border with neighbouring Senegal. He had hailed the move as “the latest milestone in the long and mutually beneficial partnership between the State of Mali and Randgold”.

Randgold owns a 80% stake in Gountoko SA, with the Malian government owning the rest. A separate company was established to control the mine, based about 350kms from the capital, Bamako, because of its 5.5 million ounces of estimated reserves.

According to reports, rebel troops have taken over Malian state radio and announced they have seized control of the country.

Randgold’s shares fell 1015p to 5575p after the news.

However, Bristow said the company’s operations across Mali were “running normally”.