This is what I have been saying. BAA has 7 M oz in Measured/indicated plus 5M oz inferred = 12 M+ oz total resource! They continue to find additonal oz replacing more than they are producing at Twangiza and Namoya. This Board does not recognize the intrinsic value of these oz. The industry would value the M & I alone at maybe $ 100 per oz in the ground, over $700M plus equipment of $ 800 Million against a remaining debt of $ 250 Million. The bankruptcy axe has now been removed. Financing is closing any day. The Chinese recognize this value. GLTA

Why is BAA so cheap? I can give you 175 Million reasons why that required repayment on March 1. The axe of bankruptcy has been hanging over the head of this company for the past 3 years. Serious investors were out a long time ago. Shareholders have to stand back and think a bit. We have Baiyin, Gramercy and Blackrock controlling this renegotiated debt and now 75% of the Company. They just invested/converted $ 80 Million! The $ 45 Million working capital facility further demonstrates they have confidence in the projects. Appears to me they want to maximize the strengths of Banro and not just a return of their capital. No fun in that.

The PR states the Court meets tomorrow as a formality to approve the restructuring. All stakeholders overwhelmingly approved the plan, over 92%.

Again, I believe the bottom is in. This is a new story. Let's hope the POG cooperates. GLTA

Yes, it is all behind the company. The sentiment should be as well. It is all history now. They converted $ 80 Million of preferred debt into equity. Of course there was dilution but it went to the biggest backers of the company. The $ 200 Million in bonds are held by the same people. The all in cash costs are about $ 850...not bad. The company has always been starved for capital. The $ 45 Million will provide a cushion for them to reduce costs. The value of 2 operating mines plus 15 Million oz dwarfs any amount of debt remaining.

A 1 for 10 reverse split will bring the I/O to about 110,000,000, a float of about 30 Million with a stock price of $ 1.50 - $ 2.00 to start. This will attract quality investors and remove the company from the penny traders. I think the glass is half full but do understand why people feel negatively towards the story. The POG as always will determine how successful they will be.

Many investors have been disappointed with BAA over the years. The delays in refinancing the Bonds helped killed this stock.This is all behind the Company now. With strong institutional backing, BAA will move up to better reflect its true value. I am long and biased but this has got to be one of cheapest gold stocks in the industry. GLTA

The bottom was set several days ago. Baiyin, Gramercy and Blackrock have taken advantage and now control BAA. Perfect timing. With the consolidation and a decent gold price, this stock could run 2-3x from current levels. Great for those getting in at these levels. GLTA

This is a new beginning for Banro! The threat of bankruptcy has disappeared. Baiyin, Gramercy and Blackrock control 75% of the 1.1 billion shares outstanding. Post consolidated, there will be about 110,000,000 share issued. They have extended $ 197 Million bonds for another 4 years and provided a $ 45 Million working capital loan. These investors are not in this for a short term trade and have put up their money where others feared to tread. The fact is we have a company here with a book value of about $ 450 Million, $ 62 Million in Ebitda and 15 Million oz in gold resources (which everyone has forgotten about). No matter what yardstick you use, this stock is a screaming buy...IMHO.

With the consolidation, the company will once again attract institutional investors. GLTA

I agree, Axmin is an interesting company. Sadly, their main project is in Central African Republic, a war torn nation similar to where the DRC was in 1998. I followed the company about 10 years ago. Their Passendro gold project looked good. Too bad it is still too dangerous to send personnel and contractors. No major mining companies dare go there. The security and political situation will eventually sort itself out someday. As you say, the Chinese will likely take out the minority shareholders. The DRC, BAA and LN have already been through the wringer and are on the way back.

GLTA

Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating selling BAA and was only suggesting Loncor as another company to watch/accumulate.

BAA's announcement this morning provides further evidence Baiyin is getting
closer to the Company.

We can expect them to play a major role in refinancing the Bonds due next year removing the uncertainty.

This is very good news!

I'd be a very happy investor if Arnold took Loncor back to over $3 as a successful exploration company in a similar way he took Banro to $ 16 per share in 2006, all before they started to build a mine! BAA will do well as a producer, the worst is now behind the company. Loncor is like Banro in the early days, has the leverage to move 20 -30 times, backed by serious partners capable of building mines. I hope history repeats itself. Do your own DD.

GLTA

GO BAA and LN!

If you review the Loncor website and 43-101 reports, the Makapela deposit is indeed open pit. The artisanal miners have already dug a pit down to the 30-40 feet level before it became too difficult to mine. I understand the plan would be to exploit the resource by open pit for the first 5-6 years then eventually go underground. With more work, this deposit is expected to grow. Randgold's program is to identify other deposits along the Ngayu belt.

Loncor is a very interesting and undiscovered story. FYI, Kondrat is the founder of BOTH Loncor and Banro. He owns 50% of the Company with Newmont holding 10%, JP Morgan and other institutions holding 10%. Randgold's $ 2.5 Billion Kibali gold mine is located about 120 miles north of Loncor's 15,000 sq km of permits. Randgold recently signed a JV agreement to explore the Company's Ngayu gold belt, spending millions looking for a series of multi-million oz deposits. Loncor has already drilled out one high grade deposit of 1,200,000 oz grading 7.6 grams/t. This stock traded over $ 3.00 back in 2011 and got crushed with the gold price collapse. Banro is an entirely different company. It will trade on fundamentals and production. Once they settle the debt issue, Banro share price will fly. Loncor is a junior exploration company with significant assets, no debt and far more speculative but backed by major companies. I have been buying Loncor since the mid-teens. This one will be a takeover candidate. IMHO. Do your own DD.

GLTA

You are spot on. The same Chinese group backing Sibanye are also behind financing Banro. This is not just a coincidence.

Sorry for any confusion. According to the release, Banro will pay off the Series A accrued dividends for periods Dec 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016. At this rate, the Preferred would yield 14% on an annual basis.

Under terms of the Preferred, Banro had the right to postpone payment of these dividends. I guess this was done to conserve cash. After the Chinese financing, this no longer appears to be an issue.

This was an expensive financing. They had few options at the time. It makes sense for them to redeem the Preferred when they refinance the bond.

Strange. I thought you had better knowledge of the financial markets.

The gold linked Preferred Shares you refer to were sold to Blackrock in Feb 2013. They provide the holder a " dividend" based on a formula of production and the price of gold. Normally a Pref share would yield a fixed interest rate and/or convertibility feature. These Prefs are essentially a debt and dividends must be paid no matter if the Company makes any money.

The company exercised it right to accrue these dividends and it appears they will clear them up by May 30. The effective yield on this is a hefty 14%! Blackrock must be happy. Let's hope they can refinance this when they do the bonds.

FYI..Common stock holders are paid dividends only from profits.

I agree with you. That is exactly what I believe will happen. The Chinese and Gramercy will refinance the debt, at a rich 10% Yield, and much sooner than March 2017. The perception of default will be removed.The stock price will run to $ 1.00+ at $ 1300.

I don't think our production numbers will be the number one catalyst for higher share prices. As I mentioned before, refinancing the debt will be. That being said, increasing revenues/profits will definitely speed up the process. We are the cheapest gold stock in terms of book value, production and reserves. Our 2 deep pocked investors, Gramercy and the Chinese know that. We are very close to lift off!!

I hope you are right. Investors must manage their expectations. Namoya is just ramping up and we cannot assume production will be stellar for this 1Q. Revenue/profits will indeed improve quarterly. That is the story here.

I agree. Namoya only started commercial production in Jan. Cash costs will be high that will drop over the next few months. I think we can expect a loss this quarter. The 2nd quarter should be much better.

Spot on theme_investor. The debt is the issue keeping the share price down.

The $ 175 Million bond is due March 2017. The perception is the company will be unable to refinance. Investors lose sight of the fact the Chinese invested $ 160 Million only 2 months ago. From what I understand Gramercy and the Chinese control 75% of the Bonds.With gold running close to 1300, annual production of 220,000 oz+, low all in costs, Banro bonds will be very attractive at a yield of 10%. If these bonds can be refinanced early for another 5 years, the lid will come off the stock. I think we are close. Institutions will pile in when the risk of default disappears.

Of course mistakes were made. As in any business, the trick is to minimize the impact. The company should have made tons of cash at $ 1400- $ 1500 gold, enough to cover many errors. At $ 1100, there is no room in this market for error. The big problem became evident with Namoya and its design. From what I understand, that is the primary reason why village left the company. The company paid a heavy price and is only now crawling out of hole. This is why the stock is at 16 cents. I agree they always seem to be raising money. Most of these new funds were used to repay other loans. IMO, these guys are miracle workers to scramble and keep this company alive. The Chinese deal will put the company on a solid footing... until they make a bid! It is time to make money on this one! GLTA

These comments are totally misguided. Much of the blame lays on the POG.If gold traded at $ 1200- $ 1300,this company's cash flow would have increased by
$ 30- $ 40 Million, solving a lot of their financial issues.

I have mining friends who work in Africa and South America. It seems many on this board do not understand how difficult it is to take an exploration company in a third world country with no infrastructure from scratch through to a current 185,000 oz producer. This has taken over 10 years. Of course there will be problems. What else can you expect where essentially everything has to be imported ( spare parts, fuel, etc) and moved hundreds of miles on poor roads during the rainy season. There are no Home Depots around the corner!

The odds of success are 1 in a 1000!! These guys have discovered 17 Million oz of gold over a 210 km gold belt in the Congo, (top 10 in the world) raised over a half billion dollars to build 2 mines, employ thousands of Congolese, building road, bridges, schools, hospitals, all the while working in difficult conditions with crappy accommodations and safety issues, yet you demand they take a pay cut!

It is shame the market for gold stocks is so bad. The sector has been decimated. We should be trading in the $ 1 - $ 2 range. Timing, as usual, is the most important aspect to investing. Better days are ahead and investors buying here will do extremely well.

The article is so full of errors one has to question the motive of the writer. Number one fact he ignores is the POG has dropped from $ 1900 to
$ 1088 today. The commodity space is full of wrecks. It is amazing Banro is still around. This is a testament to Banro's management and the quality of its assets. Gramercy and Baiyin would not have invested hundreds of millions if they thought differently. This junior gold company has met the challenges of building 2 mines in central Africa with no infrastructure. In fact, Twangiza was the first new gold mine in the DRC in over 50 years! Comparing Banro's success to Rubicon's mine in Canada and Midway Gold in Nevada is absurd.

Instead of dwelling on all the flaws in the piece, I will address the risks he points out at the end.

1) Namoya produced over 50K oz in 2015 and is now ramping up to over 100k for 2016. This mine will contribute profits this year.

2) The company has always been tight for cash with the collapse in POG. No secret. This is why the stock is at 16 cents. They have managed to keep the ship afloat and are now about to capitalize on 2 producing mines.

3) The streaming deals will indeed add to the all in cash costs of producing an oz, likely in the range of $ 650. Still plenty of room to make a profit.

4) We'll have Baiyin as a 20% shareholder in Banro. This company will invest $ 160 Million and is controlled by one of the largest conglomerates in China, several hundred billion dollars! They want Banro's gold! When the normal standstill agreement expires, do you think they'll make a bid for the 80% they don't own? hmmmmmm. Something to ponder.

5) On the contrary, Management's reputation on how it stick handled the Company through the largest collapse in gold prices in 30 years and still managed to build 2 mines will be commended. I just hope we have a chance to capitalize before we're bought out. GLTA

Every shareholder is disappointed with Namoya. The low POG along with delays have just about buried this company. But Namoya did produce about 50,000 oz for 2015, not bad for a underfunded, under equipped mine in Central African. Delivery of the 777's, etc last fall will finally enable the mine to ramp up to about 9,000 oz monthly or 108,000 per year. Combined with Twangiza, Banro production will range between 230- 240,000 oz annually. All in cash costs for both mines will likely average $ 650 - $ 700 per oz, generating about $ 90 Million EBITA in cash flow @ $1100 gold or about 28 cents per share!!, based on 320 Million o/s with Chinese dilution, yet we trade at 16 cents! This is unbelievable value! The macro problem we have is the resource markets are so bad no one gives a damn on how well the company is ( will be) doing. I think this will change soon. All the problems in the currency markets will start to drive money back towards gold and Banro. GLTA

It continues to blow me away reading comments from people complaining about production numbers when they should be reading the Company's press releases.

The July 9 release states " Overall, the consolidated 2015 annual gold production as a result of the outperformance of Twangiza combined with the delayed ramp-up of Namoya is expected to be 175,000 to 195,000 ounces."

The Oct 13 release states "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."

The Dec 31 release states " Twangiza and Namoya produced a combined 46,341 ounces of gold during the fourth quarter of 2015, for 2015 annual gold production of 183,369 ounces, well within consolidated production guidance."

I am happy management delivered exactly what they said they would. Why the disappointment? If it were not for the El Nino rains, production would have been higher. Too bad for mother nature.

I bet the 1st quarter 2016 will see record production. Namoya will finally start to deliver. The problem as someone pointed out earlier, is the market sucks.

Despite the rain, late equipment deliveries and normal issues working in central Africa, the company met its guidance and produced 183,000 oz for 2015.
This is excellent news! Namoya has turned the corner and will start to add profits this year, all this for mere $ 60 Million market cap. Unbelievable!

Don't fret my friend with all these negative postings. The company is getting stronger by the month.From what I understand Namoya is finally breaking even. Bottom line, closing the financing late April did not help. Parts and equipment ordered in May have only started to arrive over the past few months. Stacking has increased and higher grade ore is being processed. I think Namoya will announce commercial production in October with its first profitable month. Don't forget that Twangiza produced a IBITDA profit of $ 36 Million for six months or $ 72 Million annually. This mine is running on all cylinders. Namoya will surely follow. No matter what yardstick you use, this stock is extremely cheap. The news late yesterday only adds more value.

Our CEO, John Clarke and his team have done a fantastic job in turning Twangiza around and now moving Namoya towards commercial production. Working in the DRC is not easy. This team has met all the challenges. This company is on target to produce 250K annually with all in costs below $ 600, a very rare opportunity to buy shares at distressed levels. Why do you think Gramercy is there in size ?

I have to say the negative comments directed at management and opinions expressed on the last quarterly are, to say the least, misguided. The company made money during the 2nd qtr! The non-cash write down is a one off transaction, similar to all companies in the commodity space re: oil/gas/copper/coal etc. Certain financial media outlooks portrayed a massive operating lass causing panic in the market the past few days.

Yes, the company is tight but the financing only closed in April. After wasting 6 months with gold holdings, equipment is still arriving at Namoya, hence the delay. Production continues to improve and from what understand Namoya finally broke even in July. With Namoya turning cash positive, we can expect cash costs, all in costs numbers to drop for the 3rd quarter.

GLTA

Here it is. Looks like they lifted trading blackout for insiders.


Date Transaction
Date Insider Name Ownership
Type Securities Nature of transaction Volume or Value Price
Jun 15/15 Jun 15/15 Clarke, John A. Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 95,500 $0.450
Jun 15/15 Jun 12/15 Clarke, John A. Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 4,500 $0.450
Jun 15/15 Jun 12/15 Kondrat, Arnold T. Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 50,000 $0.460
Jun 15/15 Jun 12/15 Kondrat, Arnold T. Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 50,000 $0.455
Jun 15/15 Jun 12/15 Kondrat, Arnold T. Direct Ownership Common Shares 10 - Acquisition in the public market 50,000 $0.450

INSIDERS BUYING!!...and most likely their associates yesterday. Another sign this company is on the verge of take off.

I understood they bought the necessary equipment to increase stacking of the heap leach pads. This will take several months. A while ago, BAA reported very high grade results from Filon B. This would definitely deliver more gold once they get at it.

I think your Q2 production number will be a little high. After closing the financing late April, Namoya will still take a few months to ramp up, most likely not until July/Aug.