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In February 2011, Banro established its first exploration camp at Kamituga and began exploration of this high potential project, which has a long history of significant gold production.
Kamituga is located 100 kilometres southwest of Bukavu and consists of three PEs covering an area of 649 square kilometres. Of Banro's four major properties, Kamituga has the longest history of substantial previous alluvial and underground mining operations.
History
Gold was first reported in the Kamituga region during the early 1920s with the discovery of alluvial gold in the Luliaba, Mobale, Kahushimira, Kamakundu and Idoka rivers. Commercial alluvial mining commenced in 1924. Exploration during the 1930s also led to the discovery of numerous high grade quartz veins with hard rock mining commencing in 1937 at the Mobale underground operation. During the period of active mining at Kamituga, 29 gold nuggets weighing over 1 kg each were found in alluvial gravels. At the closure of the Kamituga operations in 1996, approximately 1.5 million ounces of gold had been produced from alluvial and hard rock mining.
Mineralization
Primary gold mineralization at Kamituga is hosted within high grade, shallow dipping, sheeted quartz veins and stockworks in sericite schists and amphibolites. Banro's independent geological consultant, Steffen, Robertson and Kirsten (UK) Ltd.(SRK), noted in its February 2005 technical report: "...there is much evidence to support the wide scale occurrence of gold mineralization. Most of the work to date has been confined to the area surrounding the Mobale Mine and very little appears to have been conducted throughout the remaining area of the concession."
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SRK has outlined a Mineral Resource estimate for Kamituga, which is shown below. Additional information with respect to the Kamituga property resource is contained in SRK's technical report (the "SRK Report"), dated February 2005 and entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Resource Estimation and Exploration Potential at the Kamituga, Lugushwa and Namoya Concessions, Democratic Republic of Congo," ," a copy of which can be accessed by clicking on the link below and is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
| Tonnage |
Grade, Au (g/t) |
Gold (oz) |
| 7,260,000 |
3.9 |
915,000 |
Exploration Program
The exploration program at Kamituga is ongoing but limited in 2013 as the Company directs it energy and resources to Twangiza and Namoya. Exploration work in 2012 built on programs begun in February 2011 when Banro established its first exploration camp at Kamituga. Exploration activities consisted of reviewing and assessing the historical data, stream sediment sampling, gridding, geological mapping, soil, trench, adit sampling, and auger drilling. Exploration has been focused on regional targets located outside the old mine workings to identify additional zones of oxide mineralization; and bulk tonnage potential in the vicinity of the Little Mobale open pit where disseminated sulphide wall rock mineralization may have been neglected in the past when the mining focus was on high grade quartz veins and stockworks. The 2011 and 2012 exploration programs followed a "desktop analysis" of the property conducted over 2009 - 2010, which examined historical geological data and the results of LIDAR, aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys of the property conducted in 2007.
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