Lugushwa trenches show good widths (July 18, 2005)

Trench samples taken by Banro (BAA-T) at the Lugushwa gold project in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo indicate a quartz-stockwork system wider than previous operators had recognized.

Three trenches on Lugushwa’s G20 prospect were mineralized across surface widths of 96, 99, and 84 metres. The widest zone was also the highest-grade, averaging 4.4 grams gold per tonne. The other two trenches had average gold grades of 1.7 and 2 grams per tonne.

The grades are consistent with a previous resource calculation of 37 million tonnes grading 2.3 grams gold per tonne.

The mineralization is a quartz vein and stockwork system that runs northeast, with the veins striking both northeast and northwest.

Banro is investigating gold showings along a 1-km line of hills on the Lugushwa property, exposed by small-scale mining. Five prospects — G20, G21, D18, D19 and Mapale-G7 — are known along the mineralized corridor. These join up with a sixth prospect, Simali, to make a total strike length of 3.2 km where soil samples mark out both the surface showings and a couple of soil anomalies, including a zone 400 metres long and 150 metres wide.