Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Canadian gold explorer Banro (NYSE: BAA) saw its shares surge as high as 8% in intraday trading, on (quite possibly) an important addition to the board of directors.

So what: Late on Friday, Banro announced that Dr. Peter Ruxton, who spent 11 years of his 15-year mining career with BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), had been appointed to its board. While these kinds of announcements aren't usually a big deal, Dr. Ruxton's experience should definitely assist Banro in its transition from a small-cap explorer to a mining company.

Now what: Banro is already up 45% over the past month alone, so I'd be careful about hopping aboard right now. More than anything, today's pop is just part of the usual craziness that comes with investing in a junior gold miner. Giants Yamana (NYSE: AUY), Barrick (NYSE: ABX), and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) are all flat today, and up less than 15% over the past month, offering investors a more peaceful way to get into gold.

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