Banro Reports Initial Exploration Results at the Newly-Discovered Ntula Gold Prospect on its Twanziga Property

Monday, 08 February 2010 09:45

Banro Corporation (NYSE AMEX - "BAA"; TSX - "BAA") announced the results of the first phase of exploration on the newly discovered Ntula Prospect, located on the Company's wholly-owned Twangiza Property in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the "DRC"). The initial exploration work at Ntula included geological mapping, soil sampling, and rock chip sampling of artisanal workings and outcrops.

Highlights

The Ntula Prospect is associated with several gold in soil anomalies along a strike length of 2,600 metres, containing soil values of up to 2,240 ppb Au.
Rock chip samples from artisanal workings returned values of up to 26.2 g/t Au.
Extensions to the mineralized trend are indicated by anomalous stream sediment sampling results of up to 5,020 ppb Au.

Locality plans (Figures 1 & 2) of the Ntula Prospect can be found on the Company's website at http://www.banro.com/i/pdf/2010-02-01_NRT.pdf.

The Ntula Prospect (Figure 1) is located 30 km north-northwest of the Twangiza Main and Twangiza North deposits. Banro has defined a Measured Mineral Resource of 1,320,000 ounces of gold (17,200,000 tonnes grading 2.4 g/t Au) and an Indicated Mineral Resource of 4,280,000 ounces of gold (90,300,000 tonnes grading 1.5 g/t Au), at the Main and North Twangiza deposits. Reference is made to 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".

Gold mineralization at Ntula is hosted by weakly metamorphosed, Neo-Proterozoic mudstone and siltstone, which has been folded into a series of north-south trending anticlines and synclines, with moderately dipping limbs and a southerly plunge of about 17°. Quaternary basalts overlie the Proterozoic sediments in the north and east of the prospect area. Gold mineralization is associated with (a) oxidised disseminated sulphides and oxidised sulphidic veins similar in style to the Twangiza Main deposit, and (b) bedding-parallel and irregularly cross-cutting quartz veins.

The main area of artisanal mining at Ntula measures approximately 350 metres east-west by 200 metres north-south. Several smaller workings occur to the east and south, as shown in Figure 2.

A soil sampling grid was initially established over a 1,000 x 2,000 metre area, centred on the main artisanal workings, and later extended to the south over an additional area of 1,000 x 1,400 metres. A total of 1,183 soil samples were taken at intervals of 40 metres on 80 metre-spaced lines, at a depth of 60 centimetres. Using a threshold of 60 ppb Au, several anomalies are defined, with gold values up to 2,240 ppb (Figure 2). The gold-in-soil anomaly located to the east of the main workings is particularly encouraging and indicates the presence of mineralization over a strike of approximately 1,400 metres.

A total of 66 rock chip samples were collected from the main workings, with 47% of these returning values of between 0.50 g/t and 26.20 g/t Au. The average grade of all 66 samples from the workings is 2.09 g/t Au. Elsewhere in the gridded area, rock chip samples from outcrop graded up to 11.09 g/t Au, confirming the presence of mineralization outside the workings and supporting the soil results (Figure 2).

Exploration on the Ntula Prospect is continuing by means of trenching and mechanical auger drilling, in order to test the bedrock mineralization causing the soil anomalies. The possibility of auger drilling through the weathered basalt cover to test for possible easterly extensions to the mineralization, will also be investigated. Gridding will be extended to the north to cover the area of anomalous stream sediment results. A diamond drilling program will be planned, based on the results of this exploration work.

Commenting on the results from Ntula, Mike Prinsloo, President and C.E.O. of the Company, said: "These results are promising and underscore the strong exploration potential of the Twangiza Property. Ntula is one of several prospects on the Twangiza Property, which include among others the Kaziba, Mufwa and Tshondo prospects. The Company believes that these prospects have the potential to add ounces to the total resource base at Twangiza."

All soil and rock samples were placed in sealed bags and sent to the Company's sample preparation facility in Bukavu, DRC. The rock samples were then crushed down to minus 2 mm and split with half of the sample pulverised down to 90% passing 75 microns. The soil samples were sieved to minus 2 mm and the undersized fraction pulverised down to 90% passing 75 microns. Approximately 150 grams of the pulverised sample was then shipped to the SGS Laboratory (which is independent of the Company) in Mwanza, Tanzania where the samples were analysed for gold by fire assay using a 50g charge. As part of the Company's QA/QC procedures, internationally recognised standards, duplicates and blanks were inserted into the sample batches.

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