EDITOR’S CHOICE PROJECTS Overview of the leach pad and solutions ponds, taken from the active mine site Namoya Banro’s mid-tier mining maker African focused Canadian gold miner Banro is no longer a single mine operator. Having produced its first gold late last year from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) new Greenfields project Namoya, the company is on track to elevate its status from junior to mid- tier miner writes Laura Cornish. IN SHORT Namoya produced its first gold in December 2013, elevating Banro’s status from a single to a double mine operator. I t has been a little more than two years since Banro’s first mine, Twangiza, moved into production. And while there have been a few technical hiccups, the mine will undoubtedly deliver on its promise to increase its production rate to 1.7 Mtpa (ROM) and its recoveries (to 90%) following an expansion currently underway. The introduction of Namoya is a massive step forward for Banro. Now operational (first gold pour was achieved on 30 December 2013), it will more than double Banro’s total 24 MINING REVIEW AFRICA ISSUE 1 2014 gold production output, making it significant. It is designed to move another 2 Mtpa (ROM) at commercial steady-state production from the second quarter of 2014, equating to about 10 000 ozpm or 120 000 ozpa of gold, initially at high grades of between 2.7 and 2.9 g/t. Namoya and Twangiza are two of four separate mining licences which belong to Banro and lie along the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt, along with additional exploration permits. “Banro’s mining licences and exploration permits cover nearly the entire gold belt. Namoya was an obvious choice for development of Banro’s second mine in that the terrain is more amenable to open pit and heap leach processing, the ore is well-oxidised (or free-milling), has a low strip ratio and is uncomplicated to process “says investor relations vice president Naomi Nemeth. A closer look While there are many similarities between Twangiza and Namoya, they are also very different operations. Although 210 km apart along the same gold belt, they are similar in terms of geological structure, grade and size and they are both amenable to open pit operations. But this is where the similarities end. “Namoya has been designed to use a different metallurgical process than Twangiza due in large part to the amount of space available for mine, stockpiling