License Extended to 2035!

Effective October 30, 2024, the Tanzanian Mining Commission has approved the transfer of the Imwelo mining license (“ML”) to Tembo Gold Tanzania Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. (TSX-V: LVG; FRA: E1K). Concurrently with the transfer, the authorities have extended the license by 10 years until 2035. With the transfer of the Imwelo mining license, LVG is well-positioned to intensify its exploration, site preparation, and development activities. According to LVG, the company is in advanced negotiations regarding non-dilutive financing options to fully fund the CAPEX portion of the development costs for the Imwelo project.

The completion of the Imwelo project acquisition is still formally subject to final approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. Upon fulfillment of the remaining conditions for the acquisition and the final technical planning of the Imwelo project, the next tranche of the Taifa Group’s capital participation will be triggered, further supporting the project’s development. According to the existing agreement between LVG and Taifa from August 2023, Taifa will increase its stake in LVG by an additional 16 million share units. The price per unit has been set at C$0.24, which would provide Lake Victoria Gold with gross proceeds of C$3,840,000. Each unit will consist of one common share of LVG and one warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional common share of LVG at a price of C$0.26 per share within 2 years. Upon completion of this investment, LVG will enter into an additional mining services contract with Taifa, under which Taifa will provide mining services for LVG’s project.

Figure 1: The Imwelo Gold Project is an open-pit project with significant blue-sky potential. Previous drilling, which led to the delineation of a resource in 2017, only reached 80 meters deep.

The Imwelo project is a gold project in northern Tanzania, 12 kilometers west of Anglogold Ashanti’s Geita gold mine. An updated pre-feasibility study (“PFS”) was completed in 2021 by the Australian Measured Group Pty Ltd. and includes mine planning, scheduling, reserve estimation, and cost accounting. The project is operated under a Tanzanian mining license ML538/2015 and includes a primary mining license PML2637, which LVG can acquire under a purchase agreement. The ML covers 3.85 km2 and the PML covers 8.5021 ha. The project is subject to a 2% royalty to a previous owner. The ML is fully permitted for mine construction and production commencement. The historical project resource from 2017, according to Australian standards, includes seven mineralized sites where drilling has been conducted, and at a cutoff grade of 0.50 g/t gold, it comprises 42,000 ounces of measured mineral resources at 3.15 g/t, 95.700 ounces of indicated mineral resources at 1.95 g/t, and 153,900 ounces of inferred mineral resources at 1.53 g/t for a total of 291,600 ounces of Au. The gold occurs as a typical quartz vein shear zone, hosting gold deposits suitable for open-pit mining. The ML project offers “blue sky” potential. Previous drilling only reached 80 meters below the surface, with an average drilling depth of only 45 meters. Several areas were not drilled as they were not accessible at the time, and extensions of the known mineralization have not yet been tested both along strike and certainly down dip. Lake Victoria Gold is confident that the company can define an updated mineral resource and eventually mineral reserves, enabling an expansion of production and an extension of the mine’s life.

Marc Cernovitch, CEO and Director, commented: “This renewal and transfer of the Imwelo Mining License solidifies our foundation for long-term growth in the Lake Victoria goldfield. This success underscores our commitment to building a sustainable, high-quality mining operation and creating substantial value for all stakeholders. We are now ready to advance our development plans with confidence and look forward to fully realizing the potential of the Imwelo Project.”

Rostam Aziz, Chairman of the Taifa Group, commented: “We are pleased to support LVG in securing the long-term future of the Imwelo project. This license extension represents a crucial milestone that perfectly aligns with our aggressive growth strategy in the Lake Victoria goldfield. Our partnership with LVG is based on a shared vision of sustainable development, and we look forward to advancing the next phase of investment to unlock the project’s full potential. We are excited to support LVG in its significant contributions to Tanzania’s mining sector.”

The Taifa Group is a conglomerate with interests in mining, telecommunications, oil and gas, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and leather. Taifa Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Taifa Group, will carry out all contract mining and construction work for the Imwelo project in the future. Taifa Mining is Tanzania’s largest mining contractor with over 30 years of experience in the mining industry. Taifa has been the preferred contractor for most mines in Tanzania and maintains long-standing and successful relationships with companies such as Petra, De Beers, Barrick, and AngloGold Ashanti. Additionally, Taifa also owns the largest fleet of mining equipment in Tanzania. As a company, Taifa is committed to adopting and adhering to the latest internationally recognized standards across all business areas.

Conclusion: The successful transfer of the Imwelo license marks a milestone for Lake Victoria Gold. From now on, LVG is no longer merely an exploration company. A mining license is something entirely different from an exploration license! This license allows the company to actually develop the Imwelo project. An important part of the success is that Lake Victoria has secured the direct support of one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Tanzania. Rostam Aziz, the Chairman of the Taifa Group, is deliberately quoted verbatim in LVG’s press release today. Therefore, one should listen carefully: He emphasizes that the Imwelo project “perfectly” fits his own company’s aggressive growth strategy in Tanzania. This statement suggests that Imwelo is likely to be the prelude to further joint activities between Taifa and LVG. We are excited to see what comes next.