Banro Corporation ("Banro" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a production update for its Twangiza Gold Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the "DRC").
Following the reinstatement of Ball Mill 1 in September 2012, gold production at the Twangiza Gold Mine has been steadily increasing as a result of improved plant availabilities. This is demonstrated by November's performance with production of 8,559 ounces poured and unit costs below US$700/oz. These are the best results for Twangiza since start up. Recovery for November was also a record since start up at 85.4%, where previously recoveries had averaged 81.5%. At times during November, gold recoveries reached the 90% mark at lower throughputs, illustrating that residence times are material to performance, which confirms the Company's confidence that additional CIL capacity included in the upcoming expansion will have a positive impact upon plant recoveries.
Despite frequent disruption to mining activity due to the onset of the rains, November's material movement from the Twangiza Main open pit has also increased to record levels since start up, mainly as a result of the benefits of owner operator management and improved mining fleet availabilities.
As previously reported, the Twangiza metallurgical plant will undergo an upgrade and expansion in 2013, and preparation for this is well underway. This expansion is expected to be completed during Q3 2013, which is expected to enable throughputs and recoveries to be increased to 1.7Mtpa and 90% respectively. At these throughputs and recoveries, gold production is expected to reach 10,000oz/month during Q4 2013 at unit costs in the range of US$500-600/oz.
Qualified Person
Colin J.S. Belshaw, FIMMM, I.Eng., Banro's Vice President, Operations and a "qualified person" (as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101), has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release.
Source: http://www.banro.com/