The Northern Miner November 25 2019 Issue 24

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BONUS MAGAZINE: THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN CANADIAN DIAMONDS Geotech_Earlug_2016_Alt2.pdf 1 2016-06-24 4:27:20 PM

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Banro calls again for force majeure DRC

| Initial application rejected on technicality

BY TRISH SAYWELL tsaywell@northernminer.com

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The power plant at Semafo’s Boungou gold mine in southeastern Burkina Faso.  SEMAFO

Attack near Semafo’s Boungou mine kills 39, wounds 60 BURKINA FASO

| Armed extremists active in area since 2016

BY TRISH SAYWELL tsaywell@northernminer.com

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n attack against workers travelling to Semafo’s (TSX: SMF) Boungou mine in southeastern Burkina Faso has left 39 dead and 60 wounded. A convoy of five buses escorted by military personnel came under fire on a public road about 40 km from the mine. It is the third attack in the last 15 months targeting employees of the Canadian mining company, which operates two mines in the West African nation. Five gendarmes and a subcontractor travelling to the Boungou mine were killed on Aug. 13, 2018. A few days later, an employee and subcontractor were killed while travelling to Semafo’s Mana mine, in southwestern Burkina Faso, 260 km southwest of the capital, Ouagadougou. The deaths last year prompted the northern-miner_wide.pdf 1

“THEY WANT FOREIGNERS TO DEPART FROM THE LAND — MEANING THE FRENCH, THE AMERICANS, THE LARGE CORPORATIONS.” CORINNE DUFKA ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR IN THE AFRICA DIVISION, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Quebec-based Semafo to start flying expatriate employees by helicopter between Ouagadougou and other cities, and its two operating mines. Management in Semafo’s Montreal office could not be reached for comment on the latest ambush. “In addition to the impact on people, the unprecedented scale and nature of the attack has made basic administration and logistics 2019-10-07 2:33 PM

very difficult, Semafo president and CEO, Benoit Desormeaux, said in a press release on Nov. 11. “It will take some time to evaluate the new operating environment and to assess how we will be able to operate in a safe and secure manner in Burkina Faso. Until such time the Boungou mine operations will continue to be suspended.” A total of 241 employees, contractors and suppliers were involved in the ambush, the company has confirmed. Of those killed, 19 were employees of Australian mining services provider Perenti Global (formerly Ausdrill), and two worked for Geodrill. It is unclear if any group has claimed responsibility, but Corinne Duf ka, associate director in the Africa division of Human Rights Watch, says it’s “reasonable to assume” the attackers were armed Islamic extremists. “They are known to be present in that particular area. They have See SEMAFO / 2

nlike the recurring attacks by armed jihadists in Burkina Faso, the rebel groups that are making mining impossible for Banro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are motivated more by commercial than religious reasons, CEO Brett Richards says. “They run artisanal mining activities in the country and they can generate substantial revenue,” Richards says of the well-organized and heavily armed groups. “They want to control the region, and they do not want western mines being there — they want to operate in our pits, and they want to take back what we have.” Attacks against the company began in 2015 at its Namoya mine in the southern province of Maniema, and have continued each year since then. Last year, there were five serious attacks with casualties in the double digits. The perilous security situation between 2015 and 2018 meant that Namoya operated only 20–30% of the time during that period. Banro declared bankruptcy in November 2017 and emerged in May 2018 with two principle shareholders — Gramercy Funds Management and Baiyin International Investments, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Gramercy hired Richards to stabilize and rehabilitate the company and attempt to put Namoya back into production. Richards has more than 33 years of experience in the sector, the last 12 of which have focused on Africa, and has held positions for private equity shareholders, including as CEO of Midnight

Sun Mining, African Thunder Platinum, Renew Resources and Octea. He also served as the transition CEO of Roxgold, Avocet Mining, and was part of the five-person startup of Katanga Mining. Within 23 days of Richards arriving in the DRC for Banro, however, Namoya was attacked yet again. Banro decided to proceed with a restart of Namoya in March 2019. At the time, Richards says, the security level was “green” with risk at a low level. “Although the threat was still there — we felt it was safe enough to deploy capital, people and equipment to restart the mine.” Namoya was ramping up production in June and July and about to turn cash-f low positive, he says, when employees were abducted on July 26 and held for 41 days. The workers were “tortured and their basic human rights violated daily beyond comprehension,” Richards says. “One of the employees is still under constant medical care.” After the release of the last hostage on Sept. 5, Banro continued See BANRO / 6 PM40069240

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