In Zone C of the fully permitted Imwelo gold project in northwestern Tanzania, Lake Victoria Gold (TSX.V: LVG, FSE: E1K, WKN: A3E4WC) is launching a new drilling program these days. A multi-purpose drilling campaign with a total scope of 7,750 meters is planned. The work serves to enable short-term production readiness, upgrade existing resources to higher categories, and optimize the final pit design.
The work is scheduled to be completed within the current quarter. This campaign is thus an important part of Lake Victoria Gold’s strategy to commence a low-capital open-pit mining operation in Imwelo. The future development of underground mining will also be evaluated as part of the ongoing high-grade exploration and resource growth.
The strategic context in which this work is taking place is as simple as it is promising. Only about twelve kilometers from the Imwelo project lies the Geita gold mine. It is operated by AngloGold Ashanti and has a similar geology to the Imwelo project. Lake Victoria Gold’s plan now is to bring this into production quickly, based on a simple development plan and metallurgical recoveries of more than 90%. If successful, the first gold could be produced within twelve months of the start of construction.
Zone C Plays a Key Role
Zone C is crucial for the success of the plan, as it is the first area where gold production is set to begin. Here, drilling conducted by Lake Victoria Gold in the past revealed average gold grades of 3.7 g/t. The zone thus represents one of the highest-grade areas of the Imwelo gold project.
A pleasant fact that should significantly contribute to the success of the plan is that the gold mineralization here begins just a few meters below the surface. For example, in drill hole IMWRC-037, a 2-meter wide section with 5.06 g/t gold was intersected at only 15 meters depth, and later at 33.2 meters depth, another 6.8-meter wide section with 14.6 g/t gold was intersected.
As other drill holes have yielded similar findings, it appears that at depths between 15 and 50 meters, there are gold mineralizations of such thickness that open-pit development could be worthwhile. Lake Victoria Gold therefore intends to build on the work carried out in the past, using infill drilling to close gaps and achieve an upgrade of the existing resource. At the same time, work is also being done to further expand the mineralized zone along strike.
Lake Victoria Gold also Plans Initial Exploration Drilling for the Later Planned Underground Mining
The company also aims to verify whether the mineralization continues at depth. This question already looks further into the future, when Lake Victoria Gold plans to continue developing the ore body underground after the end of open-pit mining.
Accordingly, Marc Cernovitch, President and CEO of Lake Victoria Gold, looks optimistically to the future: “We have developed this program to maximize Imwelo’s short-term production readiness while expanding the upside potential. The drill data will help us finalize the initial mine planning, validate the pit concept, and potentially unlock high-grade extensions. With Area C now fully defined as our first production zone, we are making significant progress on the path to becoming Tanzania’s next gold producer.”
Invested shareholders therefore have every reason to look optimistically to the future and eagerly await the first results.
