Ahead of the Bell: Mali coup weighs on Randgold (Nasdaq: GOLD)

Shawshank, Va 3/22/12 (StreetBeat) – Shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. (Nasdaq: GOLD) tumbled before Thursday's opening bell on news of a military coup in Mali, where the gold miner has significant operations.

Soldiers announced Thursday that they had seized control of the country and ousted its president, Amadou Toumani Toure. A group of about 20 soldiers said on national television that Mali is now under the control of the military's National Committee for the Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State, or CNRDR. They said they were suspending Mali's constitution and dissolving its institutions.

A government takeover could cause problems for Randgold, which owns stakes in three mines in Mali. The company, which is based in the Channel Islands, also has mines in Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Randgold CEO Mark Bristow on Thursday was at the company's Loulo complex, about 220 miles from Mali's capital Bamako.

In a statement released by Randgold, Bristow said the company is in touch with its sources in Mali to figure out exactly what's going on. In the meantime, operations at its Loulo and Gounkoto mines, as well as its Morila joint venture, are running normally.

"Malians respect laws and I don't believe this will come with a high-handed change in political direction," Bristow said in the statement. "We don't expect any subsequent governments to disregard proper and due process."

Randgold shares plunged $12.40, or 12 percent, to $91 in premarket trading. Shares have ranged from $73.10 to $120.73 in the past 12 months.

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