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 October, 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
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Date: October 13, 2015 |
Kevin Jennings |
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Chief Financial Officer |
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INDEX TO EXHIBITS
-3-
BANRO ANNOUNCES Q3 PRODUCTION RESULTS
Twangiza
Performance Remains Strong as Namoya Presses Forward
Toronto, Canada October 13, 2015 Banro Corporation
("Banro" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT - "BAA"; TSX - "BAA") today announced its
operating results for the third quarter of 2015.
Q3 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
|
Twangiza produced 34,824 ounces of gold in the third
quarter of 2015, a 28% increase over Q3 2014 (27,171 ounces in Q3 2014),
for year-to-date production of 105,092 ounces of gold. |
|
Namoya achieved average monthly stacking levels of
approximately 149,000 tonnes in Q3 2015 as the mine continued to improve
operational performance. |
|
Throughput at the Twangiza process plant achieved 104% of
the 1.7 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) annualized design capacity.
|
|
Twangiza and Namoya produced a combined 46,981 ounces of
gold during Q3 2015, a 5% increase over the previous quarter or a
year-to-date production of 137,028 ounces. This re- affirms the previously
stated 2015 consolidated gold production guidance of 175,000 to 195,000
ounces. |
Twangiza is proving to be a very stable and reliable
operation, having achieved more than a year of strong production. The ability to
process significant levels of non-oxide material at high overall throughput
levels also indicates the potential for continued incremental improvements with
the existing plant. Meanwhile, Twangiza management is continuing to identify new
opportunities for operational growth. Namoya made significant strides in heap
leach processing over the third quarter, with stacking approaching 450,000
tonnes and an increase in stacked gold content of over 47% for the quarter.
However, due to the lagging nature of heap leach gold production, the operation
has not yet realized the full benefit in gold production. The first component of
the new larger mining fleet was commissioned late in the quarter and is
supporting improved access to additional mining faces and ore availability. This
is a vital contribution to enhancing near term production," commented Banro
President and CEO John Clarke.
Twangiza Update
Following the Companys second quarter success in stabilizing
production at design capacity, Twangiza management focused in the third quarter
on evaluating the processing capabilities of the plant. This included the
processing of ore with the ongoing blending of increased levels of non-oxide
material while maintaining or exceeding throughput at design capacity. The
Company performed multiple days of trials to test the throughput of pre-crushed
non-oxide ore. The results demonstrated that throughputs greater than design
capacity may be achievable with pre-crushed material. As expected, the recovery
rates of the non-oxide feed were lower than those being regularly achieved and
contributed to lower overall recoveries in the current quarter. These trials are
being performed to evaluate potential enhancements to further utilize the
existing plant in the future.
A focus on mining productivity has provided continued delivery
of high grade ore to the process plant during the third quarter. The use of
non-oxide ore, which generally retains a lower moisture content than the oxide
ore, in the ore blend to the process facilities along with the benefits of the
ROM Pad roof, are expected to support Twangizas performance through the rainy
season, which generally arrives in September.
Twangiza poured 34,824 ounces of gold in the third quarter,
bringing year-to-date production to 105,092 ounces of gold. This exceeds the low
end of the original full-year production guidance for 2015. Twangiza is expected
to be at or above the top end of the revised 2015 annual production
guidance.
Preliminary 2015 third quarter production results for the
Twangiza mine, in comparison to the same quarter of 2014 and the previous
quarter in 2015, are as follows:
Operating Metrics |
Units |
Q3 2015
|
Q3 2014 |
% Change |
Q2 2015 |
% Change |
YTD 2015
|
YTD 2014 |
% Change |
Total material mined |
Tonnes |
707,861 |
1,027,311 |
(31%) |
770,162 |
(8%) |
2,453,739 |
2,626,583 |
(7%) |
Total ore mined |
Tonnes |
453,960 |
589,288 |
(23%) |
548,175 |
(17%) |
1,634,399 |
1,370,888 |
19% |
Total ore milled |
Tonnes |
441,579 |
394,500 |
12% |
428,661 |
3% |
1,299,084 |
987,844 |
32% |
Head grade |
g/t Au |
3.07 |
2.60 |
18% |
3.01 |
2% |
3.09 |
2.58 |
20% |
Recovery |
% |
79.84 |
82.2 |
(3%) |
82.2 |
(3%) |
80.87 |
83.64 |
(3%) |
Strip ratio |
t:t |
0.56 |
0.74 |
(24%) |
0.41 |
37% |
0.50 |
0.88 |
(43%) |
Gold production |
Ounces |
34,824 |
27,171 |
28% |
34,325 |
1% |
105,092 |
68,739 |
53% |
Namoya Update
Namoyas ramp up to commercial production progressed over the
quarter, with stacking levels averaging 149,000 tonnes per month for a total of
446,653 tonnes for the quarter. This represents an increase of 35% over Q2 2015
stacking levels of 330,267 tonnes. While monthly stacking levels in the third
quarter increased over those achieved in June, they were below the design rate
of 190,000 tonnes per month, due to restricted excavator availability. This in
turn resulted in lower than planned ore production and waste removal.
These restrictions are being addressed with the commissioning
of increased digging capacity in September, which represented the first
component of the new, larger mining fleet. The low availability of ore from
mining activities in the third quarter resulted in the processing of ore from
low grade stockpiles, resulting in an average stacked grade of 1.67 g/t Au.
Contained gold stacked on the heap leach increased to
approximately 24,000 ounces or about 48% over the previous quarter. However, due
to heap leach operations requiring several months of percolation to fully
recover the leachable gold, gold production in the quarter increased by only
about 15%. Namoya poured 3,415 ounces in July, 4,233 ounces in August and 4,509
ounces in September for a third quarter of 2015 total of 12,157 ounces of gold.
Preliminary 2015 third quarter production results for the
Namoya mine, compared to the previous quarter in 2015 and the same quarter of
2014, are as follows:
Operating Metrics |
Units
|
Q3 2015
|
Q2 2015
|
Q3 2014
|
Total ore mined |
Tonnes |
356,651 |
253,113 |
101,402 |
Total ore stacked |
Tonnes |
446,653 |
330,267 |
150,304 |
Percentage of design capacity |
% |
69% |
51% |
23% |
Head grade |
g/t Au |
1.67 |
1.53 |
2.11 |
Strip ratio |
t:t |
3.33 |
1.96 |
2.84 |
Gold production |
Ounces |
12,157 |
10,525 |
4,671 |
2
With Namoya showing significant improvement quarter over
quarter, commercial production is expected by the end of 2015. The last
components of the larger CAT 777 mining fleet are approaching the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (the DRC) and expected to arrive on-site shortly with
commissioning activities to begin shortly thereafter as the truck assembly
process is well underway. With increased ore availability at Namoya, the
operation expects to continue to build on improving ore stacking to well above
the 69% of design capacity achieved in the third quarter.
The consolidated 2015 annual gold production at Twangiza and
Namoya is expected to be within the production guidance of 175,000 to 195,000
ounces.
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 DRC.
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
20-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.
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 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 production, 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: 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 report on Form 20-F dated April
6, 2015 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.
3
For further information, please visit our website at
www.banro.com, or contact:
Martin Jones
+1 (416) 366-2221 Ext.
3213
+1-800-714-7938 Ext. 3213
info@banro.com
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