The Canadian gold mining company Banro Corporation is to commence gold production at its mine in Congo by October this year. The Twangiza mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to produce 120,000 ounces of gold by January 2012.
Gary Chapman, the company's vice president of operations said that Twangiza, high in the hills of eastern Congo, was the first of four mines the company plans to open on a 200 km gold belt, with a total production target of 400,000 ounces per year by 2014.
He said that they thought they had got a similar belt to the Ashanti gold belt in Ghana. He added that the company was focused on maximizing short term cash flow from Twangiza up to $120 million per year to finance the next three mines. Twangiza is said to have confirmed oxide deposits of 1.3 million ounces that would take less than $ 500 an ounce to produce.
Mr Chapman figured that the project would cost $209 million in all. The mine is currently employing more than 2,000 people in the construction phase. The mine is located in the eastern province of South Kivu which is the hot bed for rebel groups. It is the first new gold mine in Congo in the last fifty years.