Lake Victoria Gold (TSXV: LVG; Germany E1K) has reached another technical milestone at its Imwelo Gold Project in Tanzania. As recently reported, the collection of field data for geotechnical studies, which will be incorporated into the final open-pit designs, has been completed. In parallel, specific gravity determinations were carried out on selected boreholes to better characterize the planned initial production area in the so-called Area C over the entire strike length. According to the company, both are important steps in concretizing short-term production planning in the initial mining zone.
The focus is on two specially drilled geotechnical boreholes designated IMWDR016 and IMWDR019. These were sunk to depths of 150 and 163 meters, respectively. The drill cores were geotechnically recorded and documented; samples were submitted for laboratory testing to determine strength and other rock properties. Such parameters are crucial in open-pit planning because they influence, among other things, the slope angles, safety margins, and thus ultimately the shape of the final pit outline.
Lake Victoria Gold: What the New Data Means for Pit Planning
Lake Victoria Gold is linking the geotechnical work with a second data package: Approximately 200 core samples from the resource infill program were surveyed for their density. Various rock and weathering zones were examined – from laterite and saprolite to saprock and fresh rock. In practice, density values are relevant not only for converting volume into tons, but also for a more precise demarcation of different ore and rock domains.
According to the company, the measurements should help to separate oxidic, transition (oxidic ore), and fresh (sulfidic) areas more reliably. This supports both the updating of the resource and later the ore classification during ongoing mining. For Lake Victoria Gold, this step is therefore significant because the planned initial production is concentrated on Area C – i.e., on the area in which a reliable database will play a key role in the success of the operational implementation at an early stage.
The company also emphasizes the approach of the current program: RC pre-collars are combined with a subsequent diamond core tail. The aim is to obtain as much information as possible simultaneously with this drilling design – geological, geotechnical, metallurgical, and mineralogical. This data will be incorporated into the optimization of the final pit design, i.e., the question of what the economically and technically sensible pit shape can look like, taking into account the new findings. At the same time, Lake Victoria Gold points out that this will also allow a possible later underground perspective to be better assessed.
Area C in Focus: A Continuous Open Pit Instead of Several Individual Pits
Exploration Manager Hendrick Mering describes in a recent release that the geological and structural picture in Area C has significantly “densified” with the latest determination drillings, the geotechnical survey, and the density values. From a planning perspective, the technical data material tends to favor a single, continuous open pit along the mineralized trend – instead of several separate pits. However, whether and to what extent earlier model assumptions can actually be consolidated is still the subject of ongoing engineering work.
Lake Victoria Gold states that geotechnical data does not only come from the two dedicated geotechnical holes: The data collection also included drill cores from 21 already completed infill drillings. This is intended to increase the significance of the interpretations, because relevant parameters can be supported not only selectively, but across several boreholes.
CEO Marc Cernovitch classifies the completion of the field programs as the next step on the road to project development. While the company is finalizing the pit designs for Area C, Imwelo should increasingly move from the stage of technical studies to a development phase – in line with the strategy of advancing projects towards cash flow. However, this classification remains deliberately tied to conditions, as Lake Victoria Gold emphasizes in the same document.
In a detailed warning, Lake Victoria Gold makes it clear that although Imwelo was the subject of studies according to JORC standard (PEA, PFS and updated PFS work), these are not considered “current” under NI 43-101. According to the company, a feasibility study that identifies mineral reserves and thus proves economic and technical viability in accordance with Canadian standards is not available. Accordingly, a production decision would not be made on the basis of a feasibility study with reserves.
The company is thus progressing with its plans to advance its project portfolio in the Lake Victoria Goldfields of Tanzania. In addition to Imwelo, Lake Victoria also holds a 100% interest in the Tembo project with more than 50,000 meters of drilling data. Also of great importance: Lake Victoria has entered into a strategic partnership with the Taifa Group, the largest mining services company in the country: Its subsidiary Taifa Mining is to take over the contract mining work and earthmoving on the Imwelo project.
