In order to secure a timely start of production within the framework of a possible joint venture with a local partner company, Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. (TSXV: LVG, OTCQB: LVGLF, FSE: E1K) will shortly commence a 3,000-meter reverse circulation (RC) drilling program on the Ngula 1 sub-project of its Tembo mining license in Tanzania. The drilling at Ngula 1 will follow up extensive previous data and is expected to delineate a near-surface resource in the shortest possible time. The company’s goal is to develop sufficient resources along a strike length of approximately 300 meters to supply ore to the third-party processing plant located 3.5 kilometers away. The drilling will be carried out in 45 drill holes at depths of 10 m, 30 m, and 50 m below the surface over a strike length of 300 meters.
The Ngula 1 sub-project has already delivered numerous promising, in some cases high-grade gold grades in two previous drilling campaigns: Drill hole TDD0004 returned 3.13 g/t Au over 25.89 m from 41.00 m, including 4.46 g/t Au over 2.60 m, 5.05 g/t Au over 0.50 m, 2.02 g/t Au over 0.50 m and 9.38 g/t Au over 6.30 m. Other promising historical drill holes along a 300-meter-long trend included: TRC0013: 17.23 g/t Au over 4.00 m from 19.00 m; TRC0003: 3.76 g/t Au over 2.00 m from 21.00 m; 28.57 g/t Au over 3.00 m from 54.00 m; and 5.28 g/t Au over 4.00 m from 72.00 m, TDD0160: 5.22 g/t Au over 1.93 m from 107.18 m and 2.73 g/t Au over 1.54 m from 116.39 m; TRC0001: 2.87 g/t Au over 3.00 m from 27.00 m, 1.76 g/t Au over 3.00 m from 46.00 m and 12.87 g/t Au over 3.00 m from 84.00 m; TDD0133: 2.37 g/t Au over 1.00 m from 35.00 m; TDD0161: 1.64 g/t Au over 3.07 m from 54.43 m; TRC0002: 2.58 g/t Au over 2.00 m from 8.00 m; 2.74 g/t Au over 1.00 m from 36.00 m; and 1.29 g/t Au over 5.00 m from 52.00 m; TDD0158: 17.60 g/t Au over 1.48 m from 31.12 m; TDD0126: 1.80 g/t Au over 6.46 m from 25.00 m; TDD0157: 1.59 g/t Au over 1.15 m from 40.34 m; and TRC0014: 1.62 g/t Au over 1.00 m from 52.00 m.
David Scott, Pr. Sci. Nat., Managing Director Tanzania and Director of Lake Victoria Gold, commented: “Ngula 1 demonstrates strong geological continuity and consistently high-grade mineralization over multiple campaigns. The structural complexity, folding patterns, and repeated shear zones are exactly the conditions we associate with significant gold systems in the Lake Victoria gold field. This tight-spaced RC program will provide us with the data density we need to move from exploration success to a resource and potentially to production.”
Strategic Context
The planned joint venture for small-scale mining at Tembo/Ngula is intended to serve as a springboard to rapid cash flow, followed by exploration of the significant exploration potential of the entire Tembo project, as it is strategically located adjacent to Barrick’s Bulyanhulu mine and there is geological continuity between the two properties. To date, over 50,000 meters of drilling has been completed, with less than 15% of the known structural targets in the 32 km² project area having been explored. The preliminary JV strategy could enable LVG to bridge its operating and exploration budgets without dilution while continuing to advance Tembo towards a significant gold resource, which the Company believes is within reach.
Ngula 1
The Ngula 1 belt of deformed and metamorphosed basaltic extrusive rocks with a known strike length of 800 m and a thickness of 100 to 150 m hosts several subparallel, east-west trending gold-bearing shear zones. These are interpreted as the northern and southern arms of a narrow isoclinal fold structure. The upcoming drilling program will focus on a 300-meter strike length of the southern zone, where previous RC and diamond drilling (DD) returned significant gold values.
