Banro (BAA-T) The company also enjoyed a pleasing quarter of gold production. Its Twangiza gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo produced 34,000 ounces of gold, about 7,000 more than projected. It was the mine's third consecutive quarter of record gold production, which hopefully means Twangiza is finally on track. Banro brought the mine to production in late 2011, running into problems immediately with its mill. It first thought it was suffering from a broken motor, but after replacing the motor nothing changed. It then determined that the problem was the motor's frame, which was vibrating too excessively. By that time, rebel violence had broken out across the country, and supplies were not making their way to the mine. The violence pushed the stock off its high of $5.70 and it been falling ever since. Banro spent $12-million on mine upgrades last year, in hopes it could reach originally planned production levels. With Twangiza hitting targets, the company can focus on its second Congolese gold mine, Namoya, which is two years behind schedule. Namoya has had its own share of problems, from heavy rain to road washouts to violence to "an excess volume of fine material in part of the orebody," all of which have sent capital costs doubling to over $235-million. Banro closed yet another $50-million financing for Namoya on April 30. It hopes to reach commercial production later this year.
Company presentation banro.com |
