 |
 | |
Banro's Mission ~ To unlock shareholder value by increasing and developing the Company's significant gold assets in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Led by a focused management team with extensive African and gold industry experience, Banro is developing four, wholly-owned properties along the 210 km Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Each of these projects has mining licenses, allowing development to begin without further permitting required.
The Company has so far identified 6.72 million ounces of Measured and Indicated Resources, plus Inferred Resources of 4.46 million ounces.
In November, 2004, Banro launched an aggressive exploration program to fully delineate and extend the total resource base at three of the properties -- Twangiza, Lugushwa and Namoya.
In August 2009, the Company announced its intention to begin construction of "phase one" of its flagship Twangiza project, and to that end acquired a gold plant capable of processing 100,000 oz Au per year. It is planned that this plant, to begin operation in late 2011, will be significantly expanded in subsequent years to 300,000+ oz Au per year. Twangiza hosts a major gold resource at the Twangiza Main and Twangiza North deposits and offers several promising new targets for exploration, including Ntula, Mufwa, Tshondo, Luhwindja (adjacent to Twangiza North) and Kaziba. The results of a full feasibility study of Twangiza were announced in January 2009 and updated in June 2009.
Banro's second major project is Namoya, where a scoping study was completed in July 2007; the Namoya Pre-Feasibility study is due for completion in 2010. Exploration is also ongoing at Lugushwa, where a Scoping Study is planned for completion in 2010. A "desktop" analysis of the Kamituga project was completed in 2009 and it is planned to begin exploration at Kamituga in 2010.
In addition to its current properties, which have mining licenses and cover 2,600 square kilometers, Banro in 2007 was awarded 14 exploration permits covering 3,130 square kilometres and located on highly prospective ground between its Twangiza and Lugushwa projects. Applications for additional PRs contiguous to and located between the Company's Lugushwa and Namoya projects, along with areas south of Twangiza, are pending.
With its substantial outlined resource base and focused leadership team, Banro enjoys strong support from institutional investors in North America, the U.K., Europe and South Africa.
| | |
