Lake Victoria Gold (TSXV LVG / FSE E1K) has commenced a multi-stage drilling program of approximately 4,000 meters on the fully permitted Imwelo Gold Project in northwestern Tanzania. The kick-off is taking place in Area C, where the company is planning the first open pit mine. The aim of the campaign is to geotechnically secure the final pit outlines, to specify resource categories, to examine potential extensions along the strike and at depth, and to collect metallurgical data for early mine planning.
As Lake Victoria explained, the program comprises approximately 24 boreholes and combines cost-efficient reverse circulation (RC) drilling with diamond core drilling.
Lake Victoria Gold: Objectives and Structure of the 4,000m Program
The focus is on finalizing the pit design in Area C. For this purpose, oriented core samples and rock association data are collected in order to verify the angles of inclination of the slopes, the requirements for the support systems and the geometry of the access ramps. On this basis, geotechnical domains within the planned pit are to be completed and the final pit shells are to be defined. At the same time, Lake Victoria Gold is addressing resource security and conversion: Shallow infill drilling closes gaps in the near-surface mineralization in order to upgrade areas from the “Inferred” category to “Measured and Indicated” – depending on the results.
A second focus is on the growth of the resource. Tests of the mineralized structures are planned at approximately 100 and 200 meters vertical depth, as well as step-out extensions along the strike to the west – beyond the current pit boundaries. In addition, all boreholes are designed in such a way that the modeled main zone is completely penetrated in order to assess possible additional potential in hanging wall and footwall positions that has not yet been taken into account in the historical resource estimate and the current pit design. For operational preparation, Lake Victoria Gold is also collecting data for a close-meshed grade control program and metallurgical samples from oxide, transition and fresh rock in order to confirm yields and control the mining sequence in the start-up phase.
In Focus: Area C, First Drilling and Geological Questions
The first borehole of the campaign, IMWRD_005, targets the mineralization in the western section of Area C at approximately 120 meters vertical depth. The approach envisages RC drilling to approximately 80 meters, followed by an approximately 150 meter long diamond core tail; the final depth is expected to be approximately 230 meters. Beyond the area, Lake Victoria Gold is examining west of a north-north-east striking, vein-filled fault zone that cuts off Area C at its western end. The structure is interpreted to offset the mineralization by approximately 50 to 70 meters to the north. Three step-out boreholes are to test the continuity across this offset and thus provide indications as to whether the planned open pit can be extended to the west.
For the depth, the company is planning 13 boreholes on sections with approximately 100 meters spacing, which target the mineralized lenses at approximately 150 to 200 meters below the surface. These results are intended to underpin the classification in the down-dip and evaluate the option of a later underground phase below the open pit; currently, a time window of approximately 18 to 24 months is being considered for the open pit phase.
Historical results at the western end of Area C – including 2.0 m with 5.06 g/t gold from 15 m depth as well as 6.8 m with 14.6 g/t gold from 33.2 m (borehole IMWRC-037) and 2.0 m with 7.5 g/t gold from 22 m (IMWRC-038) – form the geological context. The lengths indicated are borehole lengths; true thicknesses are not known (source: Measured Group Pty Ltd., Geology and Resource Estimate Report – Imwelo Project, 2017).
Significance for Imwelo: from Pit Planning to Early Production
From a company perspective, the start in Area C is an operational step on the way to possible initial production. Lake Victoria Gold emphasizes that the combination of RC and diamond drilling is intended to shorten cycle times and limit costs without foregoing core-guided structural information – crucial for slope angles, ramp guidance and safety verifications in the final pit design. At the same time, data records are created for the grade control drilling, which are brought down in a close grid directly before mining in order to separate ore/waste rock exactly and to support the construction of a ROM buffer store (Run-of-Mine).
Metallurgically, Lake Victoria Gold aims to obtain representative composites across the oxide, transition and fresh rock domains. Confirmed recovery rates in these material types are central to the mining sequencing in the start-up phase. In addition, the depth testing is intended to show whether additional ounces could be developed below the planned pit through later underground activities. The examination of hanging wall and footwall positions outside the modeled main zone addresses the question of whether the existing resource model is to be set more broadly than previously considered.
If the continuity west of the fault zone is proven, this could shift the pit shell in Area C to the west. If the down-dip boreholes confirm mineralization at a depth of 150 to 200 meters, this would support the conversion from Inferred to Indicated and provide indications for a potential, later underground mine.
With the current program, Lake Victoria Gold is thus pursuing several, interlinked goals: the technical safeguarding of the planned open pit in Area C, the increase in resource quality, the potential for resource growth along the strike and at depth – and the preparation for a rapid operational start-up phase, should construction begin.
