Banro Corporation Extends Twangiza Mine Life to 14 Years, Ups Reserves 59 Percent

Banro Corporation (TSX:BAA,NYSE MKT:BAA) provided an update on its mineral resources and reserve estimates at its projects in the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company reported extending its mine life at Twangiza to 14 years, and expanding its mineral reserves by 59 percent.

As quoted in the press released, highlights included:

• The Twangiza Proven and Probable Reserves increased 59% to 1.64 million ounces (“Moz”) of gold (22.38Mt @ 2.28g/t Au) with the inclusion of non-oxide materials in the reserve pit shell which have been proven economically treatable with the existing plant. This expands the Twangiza mine life utilizing the existing plant to 14 years.
• At Namoya, the Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves have decreased 5% to 1.27 Moz (20.53Mt @ 1.92g/t Au), primarily due to mining depletion.
• Banro’s overall Mineral Reserves have grown by 23% to 2.91 Moz (42.91Mt @ 2.11g/t Au) at US$1,200/oz gold price.
• Banro’s total Measured and Indicated Resources for all its properties is 7.73 Moz (154.91Mt @ 1.55g/t Au), and 5.26 Moz (97.78Mt @ 1.67g/t Au) in Inferred Resources

The company also provided an update on its exploration activities in the region:

During 2014, the Company scaled down its exploration activities at its Twangiza, Namoya, Lugushwa and Kamituga projects and focused its geological expertise on supporting the production growth at Twangiza, development at the Namoya Mine and identification of near mine high grade targets.

In order to consolidate Banro’s position on the various exploration sites, some limited exploration activities are planned for 2015 using small teams focused on generating new oxide targets in Lugushwa and Kamituga. At Namoya, exploration drilling activities will be focused on near mine resource upgrade and resource generation activities. The primary objective is to upgrade inferred resources within the Namoya Summit-Filon B reserve pit into a higher confidence resource for conversion into mineral reserves. Another objective is to define additional near mine oxide resources within 5 kilometers of the Run-Of-Mine pad. At Twangiza, delineation drilling will be focused on near mine oxide resources generation on the Twangiza East and West mineralization.

Banro’s Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves disclosed in this press release are reported in accordance with National Instrument 43‐101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), which incorporates by reference the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The Mineral Resources reported in this press release are inclusive of the Mineral Reserves component.

Banro President and CEO, John Clarke, said:

The reserve growth at Twangiza has been achieved through the proven ability of the current plant to economically process non-oxide materials existing within the reserve pit shell. This achievement will extend the mine life of the current installed operations to 14 years, and provide a foundation for future optimization and the possible future expansion of the existing Twangiza operations.

Click here to read the Banro Corporation (TSX:BAA,NYSE,MKT:BAA) press release