Banro appoints Mike Prinsloo Chief Executive Officer
August 21 2007 - 8:15AM
PR Newswire (US)
TORONTO, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Banro Corporation
("Banro" or the "Company") (AMEX - "BAA"; TSX - "BAA") is pleased
to announce the appointment of Michael Prinsloo to Chief Executive
Officer ("CEO") of the Company, effective September 17, 2007. In
this position, Mr. Prinsloo will lead the Company's transition from
gold explorer to developer, with specific responsibility for
overseeing the planned feasibility studies on Banro's wholly-owned,
core projects of Twangiza and Namoya, and for taking these gold
projects through the construction stage and into production. Peter
Cowley, who has successfully managed the Company for the past three
years, a period during which Banro has added significant additional
gold resources and delivered two world class projects in the form
of Twangiza and Namoya, will retain the position of President with
an oversight on the Company's ongoing exploration program. Michael
Prinsloo has some 35 years experience in the gold mining industry.
After rising through the ranks over 25 years with the Anglo
American Gold Division to Mine Manager of Vaal Reefs and Western
Holdings (Freegold), Mr. Prinsloo in 1997 joined Randgold &
Exploration, where he was instrumental in the successful turnaround
of operations at the Durban Deep Group of Mines. In 1999, he was
appointed CEO of Durban Deep Limited ("DRD"), and during his
tenancy, Durban Deep came out of closure to enjoy a tremendous
growth in production and profitability. In 2000, Mr. Prinsloo left
DRD to join Gold Fields Limited, where he held the position of
Managing Director of Driefontein Gold Mine and was subsequently
appointed as Head of South African Operations of Gold Fields from
2002 to 2006. Mike is currently the CEO of Gold Fields Business
& Leadership Academy. He has decided to return to a more
production and development-focused capacity with Banro, a role for
which he is held in high regard by the gold industry. Mr. Prinsloo
holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the University of
Witwatersrand and is a Registered Professional Engineer (PREng). He
also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at the Harvard
Business School. Banro's Chairman, Simon Village, said: "Given the
excellent outcome of the scoping studies at Twangiza and Namoya,
Banro has appointed Mike to take the Company forward from explorer
to producer. Mike's credentials and track record in the gold
industry speak for themselves and we are delighted that he is
joining Banro as its new CEO. In addition, we are pleased that
Peter Cowley will remain President of Banro and concentrate his
efforts on overseeing the exploration on the Company's extensive
landholdings on the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt and undertaking a
scoping study on the Company's wholly-owned Lugushwa project. We
believe that this two-pronged strategy will optimize the value that
has been created to date from this significant gold belt, as well
as strike the appropriate balance of exploration, development and
ultimately production, which we believe will lead to organic growth
and the maximizing of shareholder value." Banro is a Canadian-based
gold exploration company focused on the development of four major,
wholly-owned gold projects along the 210 kilometre-long
Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC"). Led by a proven
management team with extensive gold and African experience, Banro's
strategy is to unlock shareholder value by increasing and
developing its significant gold assets 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 # 001-32399, which
may be secured from the Company, or from the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. 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 future production, potential
mineralization and the Company's exploration and development plans
and objectives with respect to its properties) 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 establish estimated mineral
resources, 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), the possibility that future exploration results will
not be consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world
gold markets and equity markets, political developments in the DRC,
foreign currency fluctuations, changes to regulations affecting the
Company's activities, uncertainties relating to the availability
and costs of financing needed in the future, the uncertainties
involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data
and the other risks involved in the gold exploration and
development industry. 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. DATASOURCE: Banro Corporation
CONTACT: please visit our website at http://www.banro.com/, or
contact: Simon Village, Chairman, United Kingdom, Tel: (44)
870-351-7904; Arnold T. Kondrat, Executive Vice-President, Toronto,
Ontario, or Martin Jones, Vice-President, Corporate Development,
Toronto, Ontario, Tel: (416) 366-2221 or 1-800-714-7938
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