Two African-focused miners, Randgold Resources and Harmony Gold Mining Co., have reported churning in favorable results in 2011.

Randgold Resources on Monday said full-year profit in 2011 hit $433.4 million on output, representing a 58 per cent jump to 696,023 ounces in 2011. The company's good operations and substantial gains in earnings had prompted its board to propose increasing Randgold Resources' annual dividend to $0.40, a 100 per cent jump over what it paid to stake holders in 2010.

In 2011, Randgold Resources modified its gold production targets by three times, the last being in November along 690,000 ounces to 700,000 ounces. From an earlier trimmed forecast of 740,000 ounces to 760,000 ounces of gold, Randgold Resources said they called anew for the revision based on the existing difficult mining conditions, work stoppages and a mill breakdown.

For 2012, Randgold Resources expects to produce gold between 825,000 ounces to 865,000 ounces.

Meanwhile, Harmony Gold Mining Co. reported that the local-currency price of the precious yellow metal gold helped boost its second-quarter profit to more than double.

Profit gains in the three months through December grew to 1 billion rand ($129 million), or 2.42 rand a share, from 411 million rand, or 95 cents a share, in the prior three months. Harmony Gold Mining Co., which mines 90 per cent of its gold in South Africa, is recognized as Africa's third-largest producer of the gold metal.

Harmony Gold Mining Co. largely gained from a 34 per cent jump in the local price of gold over the year as Africa's currency, the rand, dropped. It depreciated 18 per cent against the dollar last year.

The company produced gold totaling 344,592 ounces in the quarter, up 5 per cent from 328,162 ounces in the previous three months.

South Africa is the continent's largest producer of the gold metal.