- Gold production is on schedule for Q4 2011 at Banro's first
mine on the Twangiza/Namoya gold belt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the
"DRC")
- Twangiza's Q4 gold pour will represent the first new commercial
gold mine in the DRC in over half a century
TORONTO,
Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Banro
Corporation ("Banro" or the "Company") (NYSE AMEX -
"BAA") (TSX - "BAA") is pleased to report that construction of its
wholly-owned Twangiza Phase 1 gold project in South Kivu Province,
DRC, is proceeding on schedule with gold production expected to
begin in Q4 2011. 'Cold commissioning' - a test run of fluids
through the ore processing plant - has now commenced with
mechanical commissioning that will proceed to 'hot commissioning' -
a test run of low grade ore material through the plant - by
mid-September.
"We are fast approaching a significant milestone
for both Banro and South Kivu province in the DRC," commented Simon
Village, CEO. "Since Banro's Board made the decision to proceed
with development and construction of the Twangiza Mine in the
summer of 2009, we have worked diligently to a fast schedule which
has allowed our company to pour its first gold in two years, and
with weeks to go, we remain on schedule. This event will also
signal a tremendous achievement for the South Kivu province as it
will be the first new commercial gold mine in the DRC for over half
a century - and a testament to the co-operation with the community,
government and industry which was necessary for this
undertaking."
Phase 1 Construction Update
The successful activation of this 1.3 million tonnes/year capacity
gold production facility follows 24 months of strict deadlines
which have been systematically achieved starting with the plant
site and construction camp civil excavation works, that were
completed two months ahead of schedule with a total of 1.2 million
tonnes of earth being excavated. The capacity of this plant is
planned to be increased to 1.7 million tonnes/year by mid-2012.
Plant civil construction works are virtually
complete while the structural, mechanical, electrical,
instrumentation and piping is 93% complete. The Aggreko power plant
- the diesel-powered generation system with a design capacity of 7
MW - is 90% complete and a source of raw water for the processing
plant has been secured. Cold commissioning commenced the first week
of August with the testing of the conveyer belts in the crushing
circuit.
The construction of the tailings management
facility is on schedule. Some 350,000 tonnes of earth was excavated
in the construction of the foundation for the tailings dam wall
and, to date 1.1 million tonnes of earth have been placed in the
wall, which will have sufficient capacity to commence operations as
per our mining schedule.
Grade control drilling for the initial mining has
been completed confirming the resource model's evaluation, and
based on this data an optimised mine plan has been finalised.
Pre-strip, which was minimal owing to the outcrop of the reserves
at surface, has been completed and mining production is expected to
commence towards the end of August. The mine planning is designed
to optimise revenue by careful management of the cut off/cut over
relationships of the ore body.
Currently the mine is on schedule to pour gold in
Q4 2011 and ramp up to full production of around 10,000 ounces per
month early in 2012.
Additional information with respect to the
Company's Twangiza Phase 1 gold project is contained in the
technical report of SENET dated March 9,
2011 (as revised on March 24,
2011) and entitled "Economic Assessment NI 43-101 Technical
Report, Twangiza Phase 1 Gold Project, South Kivu Province,
Democratic Republic of the
Congo".
Qualified Person
Gary Chapman, the Company's Vice
President, Operations and a "qualified person" (as such term is
defined in National Instrument 43-101), has reviewed and approved
the technical information in this press release.
Banro Corporation is a Canadian-based gold
exploration and development company focused on the development of
four major, wholly-owned gold projects, each with mining licenses,
along the 210 kilometre-long Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the South
Kivu and Maniema provinces of the DRC. Led by a proven
management team with extensive gold and African experience, Banro
is constructing "Phase 1" of its flagship Twangiza project.
Banro's strategy is to unlock shareholder value by increasing and
developing its significant gold assets in a socially and
environmentally responsible manner.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors
The United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC") permits U.S. mining companies, in their
filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that
a company can economically and legally extract or produce. Certain
terms are used by the Company, such as "measured", "indicated", and
"inferred" "resources", that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit
U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the
SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in
the Company's Form 40-F Registration Statement, File # 001-32399,
which may be secured from the Company, or from the SEC's website
at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements. All statements, other than statements of historical
fact, that address activities, events or developments that the
Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the
future (including, without limitation, statements regarding
drilling results, estimates and/or assumptions in respect of future
gold production, revenue, cash flow and costs, estimated project
economics, mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates,
potential mineralization, potential mineral resources, potential
mineral reserves, projected timing of future gold production and
the Company's exploration and development plans and objectives) are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on
information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that
may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially
from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if
such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there
can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences
to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual
results or events to differ materially from current expectations
include, among other things: uncertainty of estimates of capital
and operating costs, production estimates and estimated economic
return; the possibility that actual circumstances will differ from
the estimates and assumptions used in the economic studies of the
Company's projects; failure to establish estimated mineral reserves
or mineral resources; there is no certainty that mineral resources
can be upgraded to mineral reserves through continued exploration;
fluctuations in gold prices and currency exchange rates; inflation;
gold recoveries being less than those indicated by the
metallurgical testwork carried out to date (there can be no
assurance that gold recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will
be duplicated in large tests under on-site conditions or during
production); changes in equity markets; political developments in
the DRC; lack of infrastructure; failure to procure or maintain, or
delays in procuring or maintaining, permits and approvals; lack of
availability at a reasonable cost or at all, of plants, equipment
or labour; inability to attract and retain key management and
personnel; changes to regulations affecting the Company's
activities; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of
financing needed in the future; the uncertainties involved in
interpreting drilling results and other geological data; and the
other risks disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and
elsewhere in the Company's annual information form dated
March 29, 2011 filed on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Any
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is
made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws,
the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company
believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking
statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance
should not be put on such statements due to the inherent
uncertainty therein.
SOURCE Banro Corporation