Banro takes risk in stride at its mines in the DRC

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is often described in an industry cliché as “elephant country” – a place where mining companies hunt for elephants – a metaphor for vast deposits of mineral wealth. The elephant in the room, however, are the security risks mining companies active in the war-torn country often have to deal with in order to get those minerals out of the ground and into the hands of buyers. Banro (TSX: BAA; NYSE: BAA) knows that all too well. During the last five years the Toronto-based company has put two open pit mines into production and advanced two other gold projects in the DRC. Its Twangiza mine, 45 km southwest of Bukavu in South Kivu province, started commercial production in September 2012. Namoya, about 210 km southwest of Twangiza in neighboring Maniema province, started commercial gold production in January 2016. The last couple of years have been challenging, however. Continue reading at The Northern Miner.