Banro Shares Decline After CEO Steps Down: Toronto Mover

Banro Corp. (BAA), a Canadian gold miner active in the Democratic Republic of Congo, fell the most in three months after it said Chief Executive Officer Simon Village stepped down.

Banro dropped 9.7 percent to C$2.05 at 10:37 a.m. in Toronto. The shares earlier tumbled 11 percent, the most intraday since Nov. 20.

John Clarke, a Banro director since 2004, will take over as interim CEO, the Toronto-based company said in a statement released after the close of regular trading yesterday. The company didn’t give a reason for Village’s departure.

Gold miners such as Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) and Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) are facing slumping share prices and rising expenses. Barrick, the world’s biggest gold producer, replaced its CEO last June and at least five more heads of North American producers announced their departures or lost their jobs last year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michelle Yun in Hong Kong at myun11@bloomberg.net; Christopher Donville in Vancouver at cjdonville@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Hobbs at ahobbs4@bloomberg.net; Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net