Banro (BNR-V) has been granted a prospecting permit for some 11,000 sq. km in the Lubero region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The permits were issued under the DRC’s new mining code, and cover the Lubero project, 350 km north of the company’s Twangiza-Namoya gold project.
Banro says the property has seen significant alluvial platinum and gold mining activity over the past century and is highly prospective for the discovery of primary deposits.
Banro officially returned to the DRC in late November, reopening its Bukavu exploration office in the presence of members of the country’s transitional government.
Earlier this month, the company filed prospecting research permits for around 8,400 sq. km of land, including its Twangiza, Kamituga, Lugushwa and Namoya concessions. Under the new mining code, the permits will allow Banro to control the entire 220-km-long Twangiza-Namoya gold belt. The belt averages 50 km in width over an area of around 11,000 sq. km.
At Twangiza, the most advanced project, measured and indicated oxide resources are pegged at 6 million tonnes grading 3.17 grams gold per tonne, plus an inferred resource of 3.5 million tonnes grading 2.62 grams gold. The sulphide portion is home to measured and indicated resource totalling 48.4 million tonnes grading 1.26 gram gold, plus another 35.7 million tonnes grading 1.19 grams gold in the inferred category. The estimates employ a cutoff grade of 0.5 gram gold.
Banro figures some 1.3 million tonnes of the measured and indicated oxide resource was removed since the properties were expropriated by Laurent Kabila’s regime in 1998.
The company plans an exploration program in early 2004.
Banro’s issue was 20, or 3.6%, higher at $5.75 in late afternoon trading in Vancouver on Dec. 23.
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