Lake Victoria Gold (TSXV: LVG / Frankfurt E1K) reports progress on exploration work conducted by Barrick’s subsidiary Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Limited (Buly) in the second quarter of 2025 on six licenses sold by Lake Victoria Gold in the Lake Victoria goldfields of Tanzania. The focus was on reviewing the contact zone between granite and greenstones in the northwest of the license package, as well as planning further aircore (AC) and reverse circulation (RC) drilling to explore structurally favorable target areas. The activities are part of a transaction concluded in 2022, under which Lake Victoria Gold can receive success-dependent payments in the event of future discoveries or resource thresholds.
Barrick Plans RC and AC Drilling on the Properties Acquired from Lake Victoria
A total of 12 RC boreholes with a total length of 1,380 meters were drilled in the quarter. The aim was the contact zone between granite and greenstones, which was delineated in earlier AC campaigns and interpreted as structurally open and potentially expandable. At the same time, Barrick’s technical team prepared an AC program that addresses stratigraphically comparable areas to the neighboring Bulyanhulu mine. In addition, another RC campaign is planned to test geochemical anomalies that have emerged from previous AC drilling.
In the systematic sequence – from large-scale AC screening to targeted RC verification – Buly is guided by a step-by-step approach to prioritizing structures and shear zones. The aim is to identify those sections along promising corridors in which geology, geochemistry and structural geology match. For Lake Victoria Gold, this approach is also relevant insofar as the data obtained further sharpens the geological framework in the belt and allows conclusions to be drawn for its own adjacent projects.
Results and Geological Context for Lake Victoria Gold
The RC drilling confirmed the expected rock sequence along the north-west trending contact zone: mafitic metavolcanics (greenstone) are cut by quartz-porphyry veins that are weakly to moderately deformed. Accompanying silica-sericite alterations, locally disseminated pyrite and quartz veins occurred – all features that are associated with gold-bearing structures in comparable deposits. In addition, rock chip samples from artisanal mining areas near pronounced chlorite-sericite alteration indicate potentially mineralized structures.
From a corporate perspective, the observations support the assumed continuity of the geology between the producing Bulyanhulu mine and the Tembo area. Lake Victoria Gold has long pointed to structural parallels within the belt; the current drilling results and samples provide additional indicators for this. Even if no individual grades are mentioned in the report, the combination of contact geology, alteration and quartz mineralization is an important piece of the puzzle to further refine target zones.
In addition, the location factor must be taken into account: The Lake Victoria region in Tanzania is one of the established gold belts in East Africa. Projects such as Bulyanhulu and other deposits in the surrounding area show that tectonic contacts, shear zones and intrusive-bound veins in the greenstone belt can be recurring carriers of mineralization. For Lake Victoria Gold, this means that structurally defined targets – especially along north-west striking corridors – are likely to be the focus of future work, be it on the licenses sold to Barrick or on the adjacent, 100% owned areas (including Tembo).
Strategic Classification and Next Steps
Buly’s work is being carried out as part of the asset transfer agreement (Asset Purchase Agreement) concluded in 2022. This provides for Lake Victoria Gold value-dependent payments of up to USD 45 million (!) if defined resources are reached or discoveries are made on the transferred licenses. At the same time, Lake Victoria Gold remains operationally involved in the belt via adjacent own projects – including the Tembo project and the possible production development on the Imwelo property. As a result, the company benefits both from externally generated geological findings and potentially from financial proceeds from the deal.
At the management level, the significance of the current campaign is summarized in two points: Firstly, the fieldwork confirms the geological architecture that Lake Victoria Gold has interpreted for the license area. Secondly, the combination of ongoing exploration by Barrick/Buly and Lake Victoria Gold’s own activities creates a double lever – on the data and on the transaction side.
For the third quarter of 2025, Buly announces the prioritization of follow-up targets along the structurally most promising corridors. The basis for this is the results from Q2 as well as already available geochemical anomalies. In practice, this means a narrower definition of drilling targets before additional RC or AC campaigns are pending for confirmation, if necessary. For Lake Victoria Gold, the next steps are particularly relevant with regard to the definition of resource areas and possible milestones within the agreement with Barrick/Twiga.
Conclusion: Lake Victoria Gold reports on exploration progressing as planned on the licenses sold to Barrick in Tanzania. The RC drilling and accompanying samples confirm the geological objective along the granite-greenstone contact zone and underpin the regional connection to the Bulyanhulu trend. With the upcoming prioritization of targets in the third quarter of 2025, the question moves into the focus of which corridors will be selected for further drilling – and what implications this could have in the medium term for Lake Victoria Gold and the success-dependent payments.
