Mining Co. Advances Massive Gold Gains in Tanzania

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Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. (LVG:TSX; LVGLF:OTCQB; E1K:FSE) is conducting a 4,000-meter, multi-purpose drilling program at the fully permitted Imwelo Gold Project in northwestern Tanzania, according to a release on October 9.

The first of approximately 24 planned drill holes were began at Area C, the site of the company's proposed initial open pit at Imwelo.

"Starting drilling at Area C is a significant step toward first production at Imwelo," said President and Chief Executive Officer Marc Cernovitch. "This program is designed to refine our final pit design, convert ounces where appropriate, and establish grade-control so that once construction begins, we can quickly move into pre-strip and stockpiling. With a low-capex build plan and a fully permitted project, each meter drilled reduces risk and advances Imwelo along the development path."

The program combines reverse-circulation (RC) pre-collars with diamond core (DD) tails to optimize cost and efficiency while gathering the geotechnical and geological data necessary for final pit design and mine scheduling, the company said.

Program objectives include the final pit design and geotechnical data, resource confidence and conversion (to infill shallow gaps to improve confidence in near-surface mineralization and, where supported by results, upgrade Inferred to Indicated categories and increase the Measured inventory in areas of sparse coverage), resource growth, grade-control readiness, and metallurgy (collect representative cores for confirmatory test work across oxide-transition-fresh domains to validate recoveries and inform early mine sequencing), Lake Victoria said in the release.

Drilling Program Design and First Hole

• Shallow Infill: Eight holes will target gaps near the eastern and western pit margins and one central area, with intersections planned at approximately 25- and 50-meter vertical depths to tighten lateral pit boundaries, the company said.
• Depth Extensions: Thirteen holes are planned on ~100-meter section spacing to test the mineralized lodes at approximately 150 meters and 200 meters below surface, with the objective of upgrading classification down-dip and assessing the case for a future underground phase following the open-pit operation (currently envisioned at ~18-24 months of pit life).
• Western Step-Outs: Three holes are positioned west of a north-northeast-trending dyke-filled fault that truncates Area C at its western end; the structure is interpreted to offset mineralization 50-70 meters to the north. These holes will test for continuity across the displacement.
• Hanging Wall/Foot Wall Potential: All holes are designed to drill completely through the existing modeled zone to evaluate additional hanging wall and footwall lodes not included in the current historical resource and pit design, according to Lake Victoria Gold.

The first hole drilled, IMWRD_005, was designed to intersect the Area C mineralization at ~120 meters vertical depth near the western end of the zone. The hole is planned as an RC pre-collar to ~80 meters, followed by a ~150 meter DD tail to a projected final depth of ~230 meters.

Some historical results for Area C, the western end, include: 2 meters at 5.06 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) from 15 meters and 6.8 meters at 14.6 g/t Au from 33.2 meters; and 2 meters at 7.5 g/t Au from 22 meters, the company said.

"We've engineered this campaign to answer the last technical questions: slope angles, ramp geometry, and continuity down-dip and to the west," said Chief Operating Officer Seth Dickinson. "By combining RC with diamond tails, we keep costs down without compromising core data quality. The work also builds the dataset we need for grade-control design and early mining, while testing the deeper potential that could support a follow-on underground phase."

Future Catalysts

The company said there were certain areas to watch for future catalysts, such as western step-outs drilled to assess continuity across the dyke-fault. Lake Victoria Gold said success here could expand the open-pit boundary to the west.

Down-dip holes (between about 100 meters and 200 meters) aim for resource conversion from Inferred to Indicated and assess underground potential beneath Area C.

Geotechnical cores could determine slope angles and ramp geometry, finalizing pit design parameters, and metallurgical test work will analyze composites across oxide, transition, and fresh zones to confirm recoveries and refine early mine scheduling.

Lake Victoria Gold said it plans to provide regular updates on drilling progress and initial assay results once they are received and validated.

Another possible catalyst would be the likely closing of a junior venture (JV) with Nyati Resources, which has built a processing plant on a piece of non-prospective ground at Lake Victoria's Tembo project.

The company said it is working on a deal with Nyati to advance Tembo to production and recently converted our prospecting licenses into mining licenses.

'A Crucial Milestone'

According to an AI-generated summary of the company’s news on Stock Titan, key positives include that the Imwelo Project is fully permitted for development and that drilling of the first hole has commenced. Reported negatives note that, while Imwelo has been the subject of JORC-compliant preliminary economic assessment (PEA), prefeasibility (PFS), and updated PFS work, these studies are not current under National Instrument 43-101. The summary also highlights risks typically associated with development-stage projects, including the absence of a current NI 43-101 feasibility study, potential cost overruns, funding availability, and metallurgical or geotechnical challenges.

On September 18, Stock Titan reported that LVG had reached a pivotal agreement in principle with the Tanzanian government concerning the state's minimum 16% non-dilutable free carried interest in Imwelo. The framework includes a 6% royalty on gold production and a 1% export levy, with a reduced 4% royalty rate for minerals refined within the country.

The agreement provides for the establishment of a new joint venture company to oversee development of the Imwelo Mining License, incorporating Tanzania’s requirement that a minimum 20% of gold production be refined and marketed domestically.

"This development represents a crucial regulatory milestone for Lake Victoria Gold, positioning the company to advance toward construction and production phases," the site noted.

The Catalyst: FOMO Hits Gold Markets

Gold prices reaching new peaks might sound repetitive, yet central banks continue to purchase more than they sell, even as the precious metal hits its highest levels ever, according to a report by Myra Saefong for MarketWatch on October 18.

"Central banks continue to be consistent and strategic buyers of gold, even at record prices, because of the role it plays in strengthening their reserve portfolios," Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, said comments shared with MarketWatch on Friday. "For many, this is about diversification, stability, and long-term confidence in their holdings."

He added, "In a climate of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, fluctuating interest rate expectations, and doubts about the reliability of fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, gold remains a reliable store of value, independent of any single government or financial system. Were seeing a structural, not cyclical, change in how central banks view gold as a key, liquid component of their reserves."

According to World Gold Council data from October 3, central banks globally increased their reserves by 19 metric tons in August, following a month-to-month decline in July. Gold futures have surged nearly 60% this year, with Comex prices reaching record-high settlements 48 times in 2025, as per Dow Jones Market Data.

Gold for December delivery last achieved a record close of US$4,304.60 an ounce on October 16. The record-high price "likely remains a constraint on the level of buying by central banks," but the recent moderation in buying "does not necessarily signal that central banks as a whole are losing interest in gold," the WGC noted in its report.

According to a piece written by CBS News MoneyWatch's Matt Richardson on October 20, one major opportunity to invest on the horizon is the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting on October 29.

"With the next meeting held by the central bank barely a week away, investors who have yet to add gold to their portfolio may want to strongly consider doing so now," Richardson wrote.

Although not certain, gold prices frequently increase when the Fed reduces interest rates and tend to fall when rates are raised, the article noted. This is because lower interest rates generally make interest-bearing investments less appealing, prompting investors to seek alternatives like gold, which in turn drives up its price.

"With the chances of a Fed rate cut on October 29 around 99% now, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, another gold price hike looks increasingly likely," Richardson wrote. "Get invested, then, before you get priced out of the market permanently."

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company, about 28% is owned by management and insiders, institutions own 15%, shares issued for the acquisition of Imwelo include 12.3%, the TAIFA Group owns 8.2%, and Barrick owns 3%. The rest is retail.

Top shareholders include AIMS Asset Management with 9.28%, Rostam Aziz with 8.68%, Simon Charles Benstead with 7.91%, Concept Capital Management Ltd. with 6.18%, and Walter David Scott with 3.09%.

Its market cap is CA$34.02 million, according to LSEG data on October 20. It has 195 million shares outstanding, according to the company, and trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.13 and CA$0.25.