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 | | 2010 will see completion of the Namoya Pre-Feasibility study. The project currently hosts 1.124 million oz of Measured & Indicated Resources and 407,700 oz of Inferred Mineral Resources.  The Namoya property lies at the southern end of the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in Maniema province, approximately 225 kilometers southwest of Bukavu and consists of one PE covering an area of 174 square kilometres.
The most recent technical report with respect to the Namoya Property that has been filed by Banro on SEDAR is the "Preliminary Assessment NI 43-101 Technical Report, Namoya Gold Project, Maniema Province, Democratic Republic of Congo," dated August 17, 2007 and which was prepared under the supervision of James Hollywood, Managing Director of SENET. A copy of this report may be accessed at www.sedar.com or by clicking on the link below. History
Alluvial deposits of gold were first discovered at Namoya in 1930 and mined between 1931 and 1947. Primary gold was also discovered during this period and underground mining commenced on the Filon 'B' deposit in 1947. Further discoveries of primary gold mineralization were made at Mwendamboko, Kakula and Muviringu, where selective mining was carried out. The majority of this mining was based on small-scale underground development along specific mineralized quartz veins or stockwork zones. During the 1950s a small open pit was established on Mt. Mwendamboko. Mining ceased in 1961, although there remained substantial un-mined resources in the various deposits plus several other untested mineralized targets. Limited regional and strike exploration appears to have been conducted since 1961. Total historical production at Namoya has been estimated at 278,000 ounces of gold. Mineralization
Banro's independent geological consultant, SRK, Banro's independent geological consultant, SRK, undertook a site visit in December 2004 to the Namoya project area and completed an updated Mineral Resource estimate in accordance with National Instrument 43-101. In July 2005, September 2006, June 2007 and March 2009, the Namoya Mineral Resource estimate was further upgraded and assessed by SRK, as shown in the table below.
2007 Exploration & Development Program, Maps and Photographs 2006 Exploration Program, Maps and Photographs 2005 Exploration Program, Maps and Photographs
2008 - 2009 Exploration & Development ProgramsThe Company completed 52 core drill holes at Namoya in 2008 with the objective of upgrading Inferred Mineral Resources into the Measured and Indicated categories, so that open pit ore reserves can be determined as part of the Pre-Feasibility study currently underway. Additional metallurgical testwork is being included in the Pre-Feasibility work to further optimize the recoveries of the oxide, transitional and sulphide ore types. Other exploration activities, including soil sampling and trenching, were extended to cover the rest of the Namoya property in order to delineate additional targets for future drilling. Analysis of the airborne geophysical and LIDAR surveys conducted in 2007 has also proven invaluable in identifying new prospects on the ground for future follow-up. Banro's focus in 2009 is on further improving Namoya's economics by continuing to expand and upgrade the resource base, advancing the Pre-Feasibility study toward completion in 2010 and moving Namoya along the development path. Recent press releases with respect to the Namoya exploration program were issued on:
Photos
Maps
2005 Exploration ProgramExploration activities began with gridding, geological mapping, soil and trench sampling, as well as an intensive program of adit sampling along the mineralized trend. Over the course of 2005, the Company completed 118 kilometres of gridding, collected and submitted for assay testing 2,704 soil samples, and re-sampled 29 adits over a distance of 2,499 metres. In addition, exploration crews completed 2,234 metres of trenching. A major objective in the first half of the year was to convert resources from the Inferred to the Indicated category by re-sampling a selected portion of the 103 adits and crosscuts totaling 8,530 metres, which occur along the 2.5 kilometre Mount Mwendamboko-Mount Namoya- Mount Kakula-Mount Muviringu shear zone. This was completed in July 2005 with the conversion of 436,000 ounces of gold (4,560,400 tonnes grading 2.97 g/t Au) from the Inferred to the Indicated category. In August, Banro began a 7,000 metre infill drilling program with the objective of converting most of the remaining 657,000 Inferred ounces at Namoya to higher confidence categories and in November commissioned a second diamond drill to accelerate this activity. By year-end, the Company had drilled a total of 43 holes, covering 5,000 metres. Drilling was completed at the Mwendamboko prospect and the two core rigs were then moved to the Kakula and Filon B prospects, some 1,000 metres and 1,700 metres respectively to the southeast of Mwendamboko. Drilling results were encouraging, with widths and gold grades comparable to the predicted resource modeling grades and widths based on historical data. Results from 16 holes reported in 2005 included 19.22 metres grading 10.54 g/t Au, 26.54 metres at 5.96 g/t Au, 39.37 metres averaging 3.63 g/t Au, 12.36 metres grading 16.66 g/t Au, and 14.02 metres at 9.20 g/t Au. PhotosOctober / November 2005
September 2005
February 2005
Maps
2006 Exploration ProgramBanro's 2006 drilling program was focused on the Mwendamboko, Kakula, Namoya Summit, Filon B, Seketi and Muviringu prospects, primarily with the goal of continuing the upgrade of Inferred resource ounces to higher confidence resource categories. These six prospects are located along the 2.5 kilometre long mineralized trend at Namoya. A total of 10,826 metres of drilling (52 core holes) were completed at Namoya during the year. As a result of this ongoing work, together with the results of a 5,000 metre drilling program in 2005, the Company in a press release dated September 7, 2006 announced an upgrade in Indicated mineral resources for Namoya to 691,000 ounces of gold. This represented an increase of 58% from the previous Indicated Mineral Resource estimate announced by Banro in July 2005. The Company views this significant increase in the Indicated Resources at Namoya as highly encouraging, especially as these resources are found close to surface and are could potentially be extracted through open pit mining. In addition, it is expected that infill drilling of the remaining Inferred Resource should result in additional Inferred Resources being upgraded to the Indicated Resource category and also being within pit optimised shells. Drilling during the last half of the year continued with the goal of upgrading much of the project's remaining estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of 4,829,000 tons grading 3.76 g/t Au, as well as finding strike and down dip extensions to the known mineralization at the Mwendamboko, Kakula and Namoya Summit prospects. In addition to preliminary exploration, core drilling was carried out on the Muviringu, Seketi and Filon B prospects. Initial indications from these exploration core drilling programs indicate that mineralization still remains open at depth at all these deposits and that further drilling is warranted. In a press release dated August 21, 2006, the Company announced the successful results of initial metallurgical tests at Namoya. Twelve composite drill hole samples from the main deposits at Namoya were submitted to the SGS Lakefield laboratory in South Africa for initial metallurgical testwork to determine the amount of contained gold that can be extracted using conventional CIL (carbon-in-leach) processing. The diagnostic testwork procedure involved the sequential solubilizing of the least-stable minerals via various pre-treatments, and extraction of the associated gold by cyanidation/CIL. The composite samples, which were approximately 10 kilograms each, consisted of representative oxide and transitional mineralization from the Mwendamboko, Kakula and Namoya Summit deposits. The oxides extend from 0 to 182 metres below surface (averaging 114 metres below surface) whilst the transitional material extends from 60 to 228 metres below surface (averaging 189 metres below surface). These initial results demonstrate the non-refractory nature of the oxide and transitional material at Namoya with excellent metallurgical recoveries using standard, conventional processing. Due to the deep weathering profile at Namoya with oxides over 100 metres below surface and the transitional material averaging 189 metres below surface, potential open pit mines sites should consist predominantly of this softer, oxide and transitional material, resulting in reduced mining and processing costs. Photos
September 2006
MapsMay 2006
2007 Exploration and Development ProgramBanro's 2007 drilling program was focused on the Mwendamboko and Muviringu prospects, primarily with the goal of expanding the Company's total mineral resources while continuing to upgrade Inferred resources to the Indicated category. These two prospects are located along the 2.5 kilometre long mineralized trend at Namoya. A total of 23 core holes totalling 5714 metres were completed during the year. In total, the Company has drilled 121 core holes totaling 20,752 metres since the commencement of drilling in August 2005. Three rigs are currently deployed at Namoya. As a result of such ongoing work, the Company in June 2007 announced an increase in Indicated mineral resources for Namoya to 938,800 ounces of gold (8.925 million tonnes grading 3.27 g/t Au). This represents an increase of 36% from the previous Indicated Mineral Resource estimate announced by Banro in September 2006. At the same time, the Inferred Mineral Resource at Namoya increased by approximately 7% to 621,500 ounces of gold (7.074 million tonnes grading 2.73 g/t Au). These resources are found close to surface and could potentially be extracted through open pit mining. Ongoing infill drilling of the expanding Inferred Resource should also result in most of these ounces being upgraded to the Indicated Resource category and fitting within optimized pit shells. The Company is optimistic that the Namoya resource can be markedly expanded. During the year, Banro completed LIDAR, airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys over the entire Namoya property and maintained an ongoing program of soil and alluvial sampling and trenching with the goal of identifying new targets and expanding the mineralized trend. From Mineral Exploration to Mining Development While exploration remains a vital focus, Banro's primary goal at Namoya is to bring these ounces into production in a timely fashion. In 2007, the Company took a vital step towards development with the completion of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (scoping study). The scoping study foresees an initial open pit operation at Namoya, and the potential for developing underground resources in high-grade zones, which are open at depth. There is excellent metallurgy of all ore types and potential for the development of nearby hydroelectric power. The results of this Preliminary Economic Assessment highlight the robust economics of the Namoya project and indicate the potential to generate significant cash flow based on low cash operating costs. Among its highlights, the study projects:
MapsFebruary 2007
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