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Having identified several new targets, Banro plans in future to begin exploration of the "wall rock" potential of this 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. It is the most mature of Banro's four properties, having previously been the site of major 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 amituga 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 licking 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
In 2007, Banro completed LIDAR, aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys of the property, primarily with the goal of identifying targets for future exploration. Analysis of this data was completed in 2008; the 2009 program focused on a desktop analysis of the project's geology. Initial fieldwork, which is planned for late 2010, will consist of gridding, geological mapping, soil, trench and adit sampling, and will focus on the bulk tonnage potential in the vicinity of the Little Mobale open pit.
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