Twangiza-Namoya gold belt

Twangiza is an open-pit mine. Proven and probable reserves are 1.82 million ounces of metal.[13] MGL began exploration at Twangza in 1957 and dug 8,200 metres (26,900 ft) of trenches and 12,100 metres (39,700 ft) of adits on seven levels. MGL collected 17,400 samples in total.[14] Under Banro the mine began commercial production on 1 September 2012.[15] In 2017 Banro almost went bankrupt and halted operations after a series of militia attacks. In early 2018 a Canadian court allowed the Banro's main creditors to become its senior shareholders as part of a rescue plan. These were Baiyin International Investment[lower-alpha 1], controlled by the Chinese government, and Gramercy Funds Management of Connecticut, USA.[17] In January 2020 Banro sold the Twangize mine to Baiyin International Investments for a nominal $1, since the mine's liabilities were higher than its projected revenues.[17]

Kamituga is in the Mwenga Territory, South Kivu. Gold deposits in the region were first discovered in the 1920s with the discovery of alluvial gold in the Luliaba, Mobale, Kahushimira, Kamakundu and Idoka rivers.[18] In the 1930s MGL started commercial gold exploitation of the Kamituga Mine.[1] Throughout the 1960s artisanal mining started to gradually expand in Kamituga. The company's workers realized they could sell gold in an informal trading system, instead of handing it over to the company for a low salary. For MGL, it was difficult to halt such ‘illegal’ activities as artisanal miners and traders were to a certain extent protected by local political and customary elites.[1]

The Lugushwa property is in Mwenga Territory, South Kivu. Alluvial gold was found at Lugushwa in the 1920s.[19] Between 1957 and 1963 the Lugushwa region was explored and mined for alluvial gold. After that, until the start of the First Congo War in 1966, it was explored for primary gold deposits. Banro Corporation of Canada acquired control of the property in 1996.[20] In April 2019 Banro said it would soon start an infill drilling program, which would continue into 2020 and would be followed by a feasibility study. The Banro CEO Brett Richards said that Lugushwa could potentially be the company's largest mine, producing over 250,000 ounces of gold per year for ten or more years.[21]

The Namoya Mine is in Kabambare Territory of Maniema,[22] It is at the south end of the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt.[2] Namoya Mining, a Banro subsidiary, obtained an exploration permit in 2004. By December 2012 a total of 350 diamond boreholes had been completed, plus 2,074 auger holes.[23] Construction of the open pit mine and processing facilities began in the first quarter of 2012.[23] Commercial operations began in January 2016, and was forecast to produce 122,000oz of gold in the first five years.[24] Mai-Mai militiamen, who believe that blessed water can protect them from bullets, periodically attacked the Banro properties. In 2018 they attacked trucks belonging to Namoya Mine. In July 2019 they kidnapped two Namoya workers, one from South Africa and one from Zimbabwe.[25] In June 2020 Banro Corporation agreed to sell the mine to a consortium that included Baiyin International Investment and Shomka Resources.[26]