8/17/09

Banro Soon to Unveil New Gold Processing Plant

Banro Corporation is pleased to announce

that it has entered into an agreement

to purchase a refurbished gold processing

plant (the "plant") capable of achieving

a throughput capacity of

1.3 million tonnes per annum.

The closing of the purchase of

the plant is expected to occur

on or about September 21, 2009.


This acquisition supports the Company's strategy

of advancing production through a staged approach

which will focus initially on the processing of

oxide material at the Company's wholly-owned

Twangiza gold project in the Democratic Republic

of the Congo (the "DRC").

It is planned that the plant will be transported

by sea from Australia, via the Mombasa port in Kenya,

and then by road to the Twangiza project site

in the DRC, where it will be erected and

commissioned over the next 24 months.

The Company intends to further optimize

this timeline as the project moves forward.

The refurbished plant comprises a crushing plant,

two ball mills, carbon-in-pulp (CIP) section,

gold room and a laboratory.

The Company's consultants, SENET Engineering,

estimate the total cost of purchasing and

delivering the plant to Twangiza to be less

than US$15 million, which represents

significant savings in time and cost to Banro.

SENET Engineering has been selected as

the overall project manager and will also

manage the erection and commissioning of the plant.

The Company intends to operate the plant as

part of a low-cost "phase one" oxide

mining operation, to be expanded in

subsequent years.

It is estimated that annual production from

this first phase plant will be between 80,000

and 110,000 ounces of gold per annum at

a total operating cash cost of less than

US$400 per ounce.

The Company estimates the capital cost for

phase one of the project (which phase

is planned to use diesel power rather

than hydroelectric power) to be approximately

US$145 million, including contingencies.

The Company has initiated discussions with

a number of parties to arrange debt financing

to supplement the equity financing

which closed on June 25, 2009.

The Company believes that this decision

will enable the Company to fast track

the Twangiza project and commence

gold production earlier along

the extensive Twangiza - Namoya gold

belt in the DRC where significant potential

exists for expanding the Company's gold

resources at its four wholly-owned gold projects.

The updated feasibility study of the

Twangiza project, announced on June 8, 2009,

indicated full production at the Twangiza project

to be in excess of 300,000 ounces of gold

per annum based on current resources.

Full details of the updated feasibility study

of Twangiza, including the factors and assumptions

used to develop the study's conclusions,

are contained in the technical report of

SENET dated July 17, 2009 and entitled

"Updated Feasibility Study NI 43-101

Technical Report, Twangiza Gold Project,

South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo."

Link here



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             J-L K.
Procurement Consultant
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    P.O. Box 3867
  Kigali - RWANDA
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2 comments:

  1. do you know where in Australia did they purchase the plant from?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wish I could help you, but no, I don't

    ReplyDelete