Lake Victoria Gold (TSXV LVG / Frankfurt: E1K) has announced the start of an approximately 4,000-meter drilling program in the Area C area of its fully permitted Imwelo Gold Project in northwestern Tanzania. The aim of the work is to advance short-term production readiness, expand the resource and optimize the final pit design.
Focus on Production Preparation and Resource Expansion
According to Lake Victoria, the mobilization of the first drilling rig has already started, and work is scheduled to begin on October 6, 2025. A second drilling rig has also been ordered and is expected to be added in the coming weeks to accelerate the program.
The Imwelo project is located only twelve kilometers from AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita mine and has a ten-year mining license. With simple development planning and a metallurgical yield of over 90%, Lake Victoria Gold aims to achieve first gold production within twelve months of the start of construction.
Lake Victoria Focuses on Area C
Area C is considered the first zone for the planned open-cast mining operation. The average gold content there is 3.7 g/t gold, making it one of the highest-grade sections of the historical resource. Previous drilling had yielded the following sections, among others:
- 2 m with 5.06 g/t gold from 15 m and 6.8 m with 14.6 g/t gold from 33.2 m
- 7 m with 3.22 g/t gold from 27 m
- 2 m with 7.5 g/t gold from 22 m
(Source: Measured Group Pty Ltd., Imwelo Project Resource Report, 2017)
Objectives of the Drilling Program
The current program pursues several goals:
- Strike extensions: Step-out drilling to the west is intended to test the continuity of the mineralization. Geophysical data suggests that the mineralization does not end, but could be offset by a fault zone.
- Depth extensions: Previous drilling only reached an average depth of 45 meters. The new drillings are aimed at 100 and 200 meters downwards in order to confirm possible extensions.
- Geotechnical data: Specifically oriented core drillings provide structural information for optimizing the slope angles in the final pit design.
- Metallurgical tests: Sample material is to be used for further test work, in particular to check the recovery in the transition area between the oxide and sulfide zone.
CEO Marc Cernovitch emphasized that the rapid mobilization and the use of two drilling rigs will advance both short-term production planning and resource expansion at the same time.
Imwelo as a Building Block for Lake Victoria’s Growth Strategy
Lake Victoria Gold’s goal is to bring Imwelo into production with a cost-effective open-cast operation. In the long term, a possible underground expansion is also being investigated if the deep drillings confirm high-grade zones.
The project benefits from its location in the productive Lake Victoria Goldfield. In addition to Imwelo, the company also holds the Tembo project, which is directly adjacent to Barrick Gold’s Bulyanhulu mine and already has over 50,000 meters of exploration drilling.
The development of Imwelo is supported by a partnership with the Taifa Group. Its subsidiary
Lake Victoria Gold emphasizes that there is no final feasibility study to date that proves the economic and technical feasibility. This means that uncertainties and risks remain – for example with regard to ore grades, recovery, cost development or approvals.
Nevertheless, the current drilling program represents an important step towards expanding the resource base and securing the plans for a production start. With the expected results from the depth and step-out drillings, the company intends to strengthen the geological basis and at the same time advance the preparations for short- to medium-term gold production in Tanzania.
Conclusion
With the start of the drilling program in Area C of the Imwelo gold project, Lake Victoria Gold is setting another milestone on the road to production. While the focus in the short term is on validating the pit planning, the step-out and depth drillings could open up additional resource expansions. The combination of location in the established goldfield, strong local partnership and step-by-step approach gives the project strategic relevance – both for production planning and for the longer-term development perspective in Tanzania.
