Managing Morila's transition for benefit of all

Market Wire, October, 2008

RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED
Incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands
Reg. No. 62686
LSE Trading Symbol: RRS
Nasdaq Trading Symbol: GOLD


MANAGING MORILA'S TRANSITION FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL

Morila, Mali, 22 October 2008 - The Morila gold mine in Mali will start
its transition to a stockpile retreatment operation towards the middle
of next year and its stakeholders must work together to ensure that the
maximum value is extracted from the remaining asset while it is brought
to a close in an orderly and responsible manner, says Randgold
Resources chief executive Mark Bristow. Randgold Resources manages and
has a 40% stake in the mine, which it discovered and developed.

Speaking at a media day at the mine, Bristow said the transitional
process should be a disciplined one designed to leave something of
value in the form of a sustainable regional agribusiness in the place
of Morila. The business could use some of the mine's facilities and
infrastructure and employ some of its former workers.

Since it went into production in October 2000, Morila has produced some
5 million ounces of gold and contributed FCFA 246 billion
(USUSD492 million) to the Malian economy in the form of dividends,
royalties and taxes."But Morila's contribution to Mali has not been limited to the revenues
it paid to the government. A mine like this is an enormous economic
engine which pumps out opportunity and prosperity in a wide circle
around it. Morila has created employment for thousands of Malians,
developed skills and built capacity, provided a market for the goods
and services of many local companies, expanded the country's
infrastructure and uplifted the quality of life of the communities
around it," Bristow said."There's a saying in English that one should not kill the goose that
lays the golden eggs. That's particularly true of the mining industry,
which needs long-term thinking and investment to thrive. If you pillage
the assets or choke promising developments with extortionary taxes, you
deny them the opportunity to realise their full value and, even more
important, to achieve what Morila has done, and that is to provide the
catalyst as well as the multiplier effect for a general and lasting
economic improvement."


RANDGOLD RESOURCES ENQUIRIES:

Chief Executive  General Manager Mali Investor & Media Relations
Dr Mark Bristow  Mahamadou Samake     Kathy du Plessis
 223 675 0122     223 675 6136         44 20 7557 7738
 44 788 071 1386                      Email:  randgoldresources@dpapr.com 


Website:  www.randgoldresources.com 


DISCLAIMER: Statements made in this document with respect to Randgold
Resources' current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other
statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements
about the future performance of Randgold Resources. These statements
are based on management's assumptions and beliefs in light of the
information currently available to it. Randgold Resources cautions you
that a number of important risks and uncertainties could cause actual
results to differ materially from those discussed in the
forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not place undue
reliance on them. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among
others, risks associated with: fluctuations in the market price of
gold, gold production at Morila and Loulo, the development of Loulo and
estimates of resources, reserves and mine life. For a discussion on
such risk factors refer to the annual report on Form 20-F for the year
ended 31 December 2007 which was filed with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC') on 25 June 2008.
Randgold Resources sees no obligation to update information in this
release. Cautionary note to US investors; the 'SEC' permits companies,
in their filings with the 'SEC', to disclose only proven and probable
ore reserves. We use certain terms in this release, such as"resources", that the 'SEC' does not recognise and strictly prohibits
us from including in our filings with the 'SEC'. Investors are
cautioned not to assume that all or any parts of our resources will
ever be converted into reserves which qualify as 'proven and probable
reserves' for the purposes of the SEC's Industry Guide number 7.


                    This information is provided by RNS
          The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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