UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
20549
Form 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 or
15d-16 UNDER THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of April, 2015.
Commission File Number 001-32399
BANRO CORPORATION
(Translation of registrants name into English)
1 First Canadian Place
100 King Street West, Suite
7070
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5X 1E3
(Address of
principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will
file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F
Form 20-F [X] Form 40-F
[ ]
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form
6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): [ ]
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the
submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached
annual report to security holders.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form
6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): [ ]
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the
submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other
document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public
under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated,
domiciled or legally organized (the registrants home country), or under the
rules of the home country exchange on which the registrants securities are
traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not
required to be and has not been distributed to the registrants security
holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a
Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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BANRO CORPORATION |
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/s/ Kevin Jennings |
Date: |
April 6, 2015 |
Kevin Jennings |
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Chief Financial Officer
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INDEX TO EXHIBITS
-3-
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PRESS
RELEASE |
Banro Announces Record Q1 Production Results
Toronto, Canada April 6, 2015 Banro Corporation
("Banro" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT - "BAA"; TSX - "BAA") today announced its
operating results for the first quarter of 2015.
COMPANY Q1 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Twangiza produced 35,943 ounces of gold in the first
quarter of 2015, a 78% increase over Q1 2014 (20,137 ounces in Q1 2014),
successfully managing the adverse impact of the rainy season. |
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Process plant throughput achieved 101% of the 1.7 million
tonnes per annum (Mtpa) annualized design capacity and more importantly,
3 quarters of consistent incremental improvement. |
|
Twangiza processed up to 28% of transition material to
assist with the feed blend during the last two quarters, even though this
material is not included in the Companys mineral reserves. |
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Together, Twangiza and Namoya produced 45,197
ounces of gold during Q1 2015. |
CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
|
The Company received US$20 million of the US$40 million
from the Twangiza gold forward sale agreements and expects to close on the
remaining funds, as well as the Namoya stream financing, in mid-April.
|
Twangiza is performing well and achieved its third consecutive
record quarterly gold production. Twangiza will be optimized in Q2 for
operational improvement. Namoya is positioned to improve during Q2 2015 as we
are ramping up ore production following the installation of the agglomeration
stage (with cement added as a binder) into the Namoya heap leach circuit. The
agglomeration drum is expected to allow for more efficient processing of the
fines content of the Namoya ore and ensure more efficient reagent percolation in
the heap process, leading to better gold recovery," commented Banro CEO and
President John Clarke.
Twangiza Update
As a result of the management teams diligence and ongoing
drive for operational improvement, Twangizas mining and process plant delivered
strong operating results despite the wet conditions typically experienced in the
first quarter. Larger mine production allowed the operation to prioritize higher
grade for processing, while ample dry stockpiles allowed for consistent
throughput to optimize the quarterly plant throughput (428,844t), reaching the
annualized design throughput of 1.7 Mtpa. Management plans, over the next 2
quarters, to continue to debottleneck the process to ensure this capacity can be
maintained permanently, before pursuing higher targets.
Twangiza poured 10,635 ounces in January, 13,197 ounces in
February and 12,111 ounces in March for a first quarter 2015 total of 35,943
ounces of gold. This is above the 2015 monthly average production guidance of
9,000 ounces per month as the operation moves into the dry season and easier
working conditions for mine and plant operations.
The Company's preliminary 2015 first quarter production results
for the Twangiza mine, in comparison to the same quarter of 2014 and the
previous quarter in 2014 are as follows:
Operating
Metrics |
Units
|
Q1 2015
|
Q1 2014
|
%
Change |
Q4 2014
|
%
Change |
Full
Year 2014 |
Full
Year 2013 |
%
Change |
Total material
mined |
Tonnes |
975,716 |
677,569 |
44% |
969,062 |
1% |
3,595,645 |
4,116,657 |
(13%) |
Total ore mined |
Tonnes |
632,264 |
296,324 |
113% |
556,856 |
14% |
1,927,744 |
1,758,972 |
10% |
Total ore milled |
Tonnes |
428,844 |
252,691 |
70% |
370,881 |
16% |
1,358,726 |
1,023,981 |
33% |
Head grade |
g/t Au |
3.21 |
2.73 |
18% |
3.01 |
7% |
2.70 |
2.98 |
(9%) |
Recovery |
% |
80.7 |
84.97 |
(5%) |
81.4 |
(1%) |
83.0 |
83.8 |
(1%) |
Strip ratio |
t:t |
0.54 |
1.29 |
(58%) |
0.74 |
(27%) |
0.84 |
1.35 |
(38%) |
Gold production |
Ounces |
35,943 |
20,137 |
78% |
29,445 |
22% |
98,184 |
82,591 |
19%
|
The Twangiza operation processed up to 28% transition material
currently in the measured and indicated categories. This material performed well
when mixed with the oxide reserves and hence provides the basis for some
non-oxide material to be incorporated into the on-going updated NI 43-101
reserves and resources statement that is expected to be released later this
month.
Namoya Update
The key objective for Namoya management in Q1 was to position
itself to reach commercial completion by H2 2015. The Company had to modify its
original ramp-up plans due to the financing delay (with financing having now
been secured as reported in the Companys February 27, 2015 press release). This
included:
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Pre-stripping Kakula reserve pit earlier than planned in
order to open up more mining faces to improve flexibility in mine
scheduling and provide additional time for the delivery of the mobile
truck fleet that would commence waste stripping activities.
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2
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Commissioning of the agglomeration drum was done on
January 27, 2015, 18 days ahead of the initial project completion date of
mid-February 2015 as published in the Q4 2014 operations update. The
installation and process tie in of the agglomeration drum impacted
processing productivity for two weeks straddling January and February.
|
|
The completion of the drum, which was performed in-house,
will allow the operations to focus on de-bottlenecking the heap leach
operation, increasing speed and capacity of the conveying systems and
begin the restart of the modified CIL plant. |
There has been significant improvement in heap leach stacked
tonnes during the first quarter of 2015 with 64,720 tonnes stacked in January,
87,441 tonnes stacked in February and 103,162 tonnes stacked in March for a
first quarter 2015 total of 255,323 tonnes. Namoya poured 3,260 ounces in
January, 2,687 ounces in February and 3,307 ounces in March for a first quarter
2015 total of 9,254 ounces of gold.
With the commissioning of the agglomeration circuit and
debottlenecking during Q1 2015, it is anticipated that the gold production
profile for the Namoya operations will rise incrementally from its current level
of approximately 3,000 ounces per month achieved. With heap leach operations
taking several months of continuous percolation to fully recover the leachable
gold, the full benefits of the improvements to the heap leach circuit are
expected to build up during Q2 2015 to a monthly gold production rate of 9,000
to 11,000 ounces per month during H2 2015.
The Company's preliminary 2015 first quarter production results
for the Namoya mine, in comparison to the same quarter of 2014 and the previous
quarter in 2014 are as follows:
Operating
Metrics |
Units
|
Q1
2015 |
Q1
2014 |
Q4
2014 |
Total ore mined |
Tonnes |
178,800 |
253,853 |
343,753 |
Total ore stacked |
Tonnes |
255,323 |
129,372 |
218,248 |
Head grade |
g/t Au |
1.97 |
1.91 |
2.33 |
Strip ratio |
t:t |
2.93 |
1.81 |
1.08 |
Gold production |
Ounces |
9,254 |
3,362 |
8,791 |
The production growth of the two operations combined with the
improved cash flow and corporate financing, during Q1 2015 in particular,
provides a strong foundation for maintaining steady state production at Twangiza
and properly ramping up at Namoya to commercial production steady state.
Banro Corporation is a Canadian gold mining
company focused on production from the Twangiza mine, which began commercial
production September 1, 2012, and completion of its second gold mine at Namoya
located approximately 200 kilometres southwest of the Twangiza gold mine. The
Companys longer term objectives include the development of two additional
major, wholly-owned gold projects, Lugushwa and Kamituga. The four projects,
each of which has a mining license, are located along the 210 kilometre long
Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC). Led by a proven management team
with extensive gold and African experience, the initial focus of the Company is
on the mining of oxide material, which has a low capital intensity to develop
but also attracts a lower technical and financial risk to the Company. All
business activities are followed in a socially and environmentally responsible
manner.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC") permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose
only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract
or produce. Certain terms are used by the Company, such as "Measured", "Indicated", and
"Inferred" "Resources", that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S.
registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC. U.S.
Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in the Company's Form
40-F Registration Statement, File No. 001-32399, which may be secured from the
Company, or from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
3
Cautionary Note Concerning Mineral Resource and Mineral
Reserve Estimates
The Companys Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve figures
are estimates and no assurances can be given that the indicated levels of gold
will be produced. Such estimates are expressions of judgment based on knowledge,
mining experience, analysis of drilling results and industry practices. Valid
estimates made at a given time may significantly change when new information
becomes available. While the Company believes that Mineral Resource and Mineral
Reserve estimates are well established, by their nature Mineral Resource and
Mineral Reserve estimates are imprecise and depend, to a certain extent, upon
statistical inferences which may ultimately prove unreliable.
Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have
demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that Mineral Resources
can be upgraded to Mineral Reserves through continued exploration.
Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to Inferred
Mineral Resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred
Mineral Resource will be upgraded to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource
as a result of continued exploration. Confidence in the estimate is insufficient
to allow meaningful application of the technical and economic parameters to
enable an evaluation of economic viability worthy of public disclosure (except
in certain limited circumstances). Inferred Mineral Resources are excluded from
estimates forming the basis of a feasibility study.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities,
events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or
may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding
estimates and/or assumptions in respect of the closing of the Twangiza gold
forward sale and Namoya stream transactions, future gold production (including
the timing thereof), costs, cash flow and gold recoveries, Mineral Resource and
Mineral Reserve estimates, potential Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and
the Companys development and exploration plans and objectives) are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current
expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available
to the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ
materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if
such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no
assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the
Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially
from current expectations include, among other things: failure to complete the
Twangiza gold forward sale and Namoya stream transactions; uncertainty of
estimates of capital and operating costs, production estimates and estimated
economic return of the Companys projects; the possibility that actual
circumstances will differ from the estimates and assumptions used in the
economic studies of the Companys projects; failure to establish estimated
mineral resources and mineral reserves (the Companys mineral resource and
mineral reserve figures are estimates and no assurance can be given that the
intended levels of gold will be produced); fluctuations in gold prices and
currency exchange rates; inflation; gold recoveries being less than those
indicated by the metallurgical testwork carried out to date (there can be no
assurance that gold recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will be
duplicated in large tests under on-site conditions or during production);
uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the
future; changes in equity markets; political developments in the DRC; lack of
infrastructure; failure to procure or maintain, or delays in procuring or
maintaining, permits and approvals; lack of availability at a reasonable cost or
at all, of plants, equipment or labour; inability to attract and retain key
management and personnel; changes to regulations affecting the Company's
activities; the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and
other geological data; and the other risks disclosed under the heading "Risk
Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's annual information form dated March 29,
2014 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Any
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and,
except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims
any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the
Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements
are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements
due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
For further information, please visit our website at
www.banro.com, or contact:
Joel Friedman, Manager, Finance,
+1
(416) 366-3396
+1-800-714-7938, Ext. 3396
info@banro.com,
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