La Mancha plans to expand its African footprint, buy Barrick gold mines

LONDON (Reuters) - La Mancha Group plans to buy more underground gold mines in Africa and is ready to snap up mines that Barrick Gold <ABX.TO> and Randgold Resources <RRS.L> will sell after their merger, its billionaire chairman Naguib Sawiris said on Tuesday.

"(The Barrick disposals) might be in geographies where we are very strong and that makes sense for us," Sawiris told reporters on the sidelines of the Mines and Money conference in London. "We can extend the mine lives."

He also said he could list Endeavour or one of the gold companies he is invested in Africa on the London Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Jan Harvey)