JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Despite facing its own drawn-out battles in establishing a sustainable mining operation in Côte d'Ivoire, Randgold Resources CEO Mark Bristow believes the West African country has the potential to become one of sub-Saharan Africa's key exploration destinations.

The West African country was relatively unexplored but highly prospective for gold and other metals, which could potentially provide gold investors with a platform to establish a sustainable mining industry, Bristow said in a speech delivered at a media briefing at the weekend.

He stated that the nation had, arguably, the most advanced infrastructure in the region and a competent civil service.

However, he urged the government to ensure that its mining code, which was currently under review, remained investor-friendly, while government should act as a partner to the mining companies, to create long-term economic value to benefit all stakeholders.

Randgold commissioned and started production at Côte d'Ivoire's largest gold mine Tongon, in 2010, and already produced more than 600 000 oz of gold and contributed more than $50-million to the State in the form of royalties and taxes, despite a difficult start to the project.

The mine was commissioned amid the unrest that followed a disputed outcome of the presidential election and had, in addition to suffering erratic power supply from the national grid, experienced some plant start-up issues, which were being dealt with through a number of plant expansion and upgrade projects.

The mine's performance was steadily improving, Bristow commented.

He added that Randgold remained committed to working with the country’s government to build a sustainable mining industry and would use its Tongon operation as a platform from which to find and develop world-class gold deposits.

Randgold geologists were aggressively exploring its portfolio of 15 permits elsewhere in the country for further multimillion-ounce gold deposits.