EXHIBIT 99.39

                                 PRESS RELEASE


               BANRO ACQUIRES TITLE TO ADDITIONAL PROPERTY IN DRC


Toronto,  Canada,  December 23, 2003 - Banro  Corporation  (the  "Company") (TSX
Venture  symbol - "BNR")  announces it has received  formal title to Prospecting
Permit applications recently submitted to the Mining Cadastral for approximately
11,000 square  kilometers,  or 4,200 square  miles,  in the Lubero region of the
Democratic  Republic of the Congo (the "DRC").  The  acquisition  of the "Lubero
Project"  was made under the DRC's new Mining Code and is located  approximately
350 kilometers north of the Company's Twangiza-Namoya gold project.

Information   obtained  from  the  Company's   extensive  library  of  Congolese
geological  data  indicates the property has  experienced  significant  alluvial
platinum  and  gold  mining  activity  over  the  past  century  and  is  highly
prospective for the discovery of primary deposits.

Future plans for this expanded  exploration  portfolio will be released in early
2004.

For further information, please visit our website at www.banro.com or contact:

Arnold Kondrat
Executive Vice President
Tel: (416) 366-2221


Banro is a Canadian-based gold exploration company focused on the exploration of
its wholly-owned  Twangiza-Namoya gold project in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo.


The TSX Venture  Exchange  does not accept  responsibility  for the  adequacy or
accuracy of this press release.