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NEWS - CONTINUED 26 E&MJ; • MAY 2018 www.e-mj.com United. Inspired. Avoid unplanned maintenance with RigScan from Epiroc. Regular health checks are good for you. The same is true of your equipment. RigScan from Epiroc is an audit service that off ers you a real-time, non-intrusive look at equipment running condition and performance. By diagnosing failures before they fail, RigScan lets you schedule maintenance and repairs. The more you can predict and plan, the better your operation will run. epiroc.com Regular health checks law applicable to KCC, KCC was obliged to address a capital deficiency that first arose in 2014 when, as a result of historical losses incurred during the rehabilitation of KCC's assets through the servicing of the inter-company loans to fund such rehabili- tation, KCC shareholders' equity fell below half of its authorized capital. In accordance with such laws, the capital deficiency should have been rectified by December 31, 2017, and, as a result of this not hav- ing been done, an interested party was entitled to commence legal action for the dissolution of KCC before DRC judicial au- thorities, which Gécamines has now done. In 2017, the company proposed a recapitalization plan to Gécamines in compliance with the provisions of DRC law and the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement between them that would have rectified the capital deficiency. KCC said it made numerous attempts to engage in constructive negotiations with Gécamines regarding the recapitalization plan. How- ever, KCC said Gécamines has, instead of meaningfully engaging with the company, unilaterally commenced the proceeding. As a consequence of the completion of the first train of the Whole Ore Leach project and subsequent operational ramp-up, KCC is generating positive operating cash flow. KCC remains liquid due to operating cash flows and its guarantees from its ultimate parent shareholder. As such, all obligations to KCC's creditors are being honored, and the company is meeting all of its commercial obligations. Based on current projections, cash flows of KCC are expected to be suffi- cient to allow the repayment of outstanding shareholders debt and to fund distributions to shareholders, including Gécamines. Automation Drives Production Growth at Kibali The successful commissioning of the auto- mated material handling system at Kibali gold mine's underground operation is sup- porting the planned ramp-up in produc- tion, according to Randgold Resources' CEO Mark Bristow. Bristow said Kibali was on track to achieve its 2018 production guidance of 730,000 ounces (oz), a 22% increase on the previous year's output. Aside from the continuing optimization underground and the construction of the mine's third hydroelectric station, sched- uled for commissioning toward the middle of this year, the giant Kibali project is now complete. Later this year, Kibali will move from underground mining by contractors to owner-mining, as has already happened at Randgold's Loulo mines in Mali. Kibali ranks as one of the most auto- mated underground gold mines in Africa and the third-largest open-stoping gold mine in the world. Bristow noted that it represented an investment of more than $2.7 billion over an eight-year period. "The investment in Kibali was motivat- ed by the stability provision in the 2002 mining code, which in our view has been triggered by the recent promulgation of the 2018 code," he said. "We trust we shall be able to reach consensus on this issue with the government, which we believe is criti- cal to future investment in the country." Despite challenges, Kibali remains committed to advancing the development of its remote region and continues to in- vest in the employment and upskilling of local people. More than 90% of its em- ployees are Congolese nationals, and so far this year, it has spent almost $50 mil- lion with local contractors. Over the total project period, this totaled $1.6 billion. (Regional News-Africa - from p. 18)