Exhibit12.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 302(A) OF THESARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, D. MARK BRISTOW, certifythat:

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| 1.  | I have reviewed this annualreport on Form 20-F of Randgold ResourcesLimited; |

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| 2.  | Based on my knowledge,this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact oromit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, inlight of the circumstances under which such statements were made, notmisleading with respect to the period covered by thisreport; |

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| 3.  | Based on my knowledge, thefinancial statements, and other financial information included in thisreport, fairly present in all material respects the financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows of the company as of,and for, the periods presented in thisreport; |

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| 4.  | The company's othercertifying officer and I are responsible for establishing andmaintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in ExchangeAct Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the company andhave: |

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|  | (a)  | Designed such disclosurecontrols and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls andprocedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure thatmaterial information relating to the company, including itsconsolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within thoseentities, particularly during the period in which this report is beingprepared; |

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|  | (b)  | Evaluated theeffectiveness of the company's disclosure controls and proceduresand presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness ofthe disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the periodcovered by this report based on such evaluation;and |

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|  | (c)  | Disclosed in this report anychange in the company's internal control over financial reportingthat occurred during the period covered by the annual report that hasmaterially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, thecompany's internal control over financial reporting;and |

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| 5.  | The company's othercertifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recentevaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to thecompany's auditors and the audit committee of the company'sboard of directors (or persons performing the equivalentfunctions): |

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|  | (a)  | All significantdeficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation ofinternal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likelyto adversely affect the company's ability to record, process,summarize and report financial information;and |

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|  | (b)  | Any fraud, whether or notmaterial, that involves management or other employees who have asignificant role in the company's internal control over financialreporting. |

Date: June 29, 2006

/s/ D. Mark Bristow D. MarkBristow Chief Executive Officer

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