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ineral processing and project management company MDM Engineering has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction management contract for gold exploration and development company Banro Corporation’s Namoya gold project in the Democratic Rebublic of Congo (DRC).

“MDM sees Banro as a key client and looks forward to building a strong ongoing relationship and developing the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in conjunction with the explorer,” says MDM executive director George Bennett.

Banro intends building another two gold mines in the Twangiza-Namoya belt and MDM is focused on becoming its engineering company of choice, he says.

Namoya Mining, a wholly owned subsidiary of Banro, is developing the Namoya gold mine in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces of the DRC, about 270 km south-west of the town of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.

The Namoya gold project is one of Banro’s four gold properties comprising 13 exploitation permits in South Kivu and Maniema. These properties, totalling 2 616 km², are located along the 210 km, north-east to south-west-trending Twangiza-Namoya gold belt. The gold belt is located in Proterozoic and Archean age rocks in the northern half of the Great Lakes subprovince.

Namoya will see the development of a mine and a gravity heap-leach processing facility to treat two-million tons of ore a year and produce about 131 000 oz of gold bullion yearly.

Preconstruction activities on the project started in the fourth quarter of 2011, with bulk earthworks expected to start at the end of May. The commissioning of the mine is planned for March 2013, which is expected to double Banro’s gold production to 250 000 oz/y.