Barrick-Backed Drill Program Targets Gold Belt Next to One of Africa's Richest Mines

1. Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$6,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers, contractors, shareholders, and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. and Barrick Mining Corp.
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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. (LVG:TSX; LVGLF:OTCQB; E1K:FSE) announced an update on third-quarter exploration work completed by Barrick Mining Corp.'s (ABX:TSX; B:NYSE) Tanzanian joint venture, Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Limited, on six licenses acquired from LVG under a 2021 asset purchase agreement. The licenses form part of the Tembo Inlier, which lies adjacent to the Bulyanhulu Mine in the prolific Lake Victoria Goldfield.

During the quarter, Bulyanhulu conducted several initiatives aimed at refining geological and structural models and assessing the potential for mineralized systems similar to the nearby Bulyanhulu deposit. Work included 94 line-kilometers of gradient array induced polarization (GAIP) geophysical surveying and the commencement of an aircore (AC) drilling program. Nineteen holes totaling 419 meters were completed at the Enze target out of a planned 30,750-meter campaign.

According to Lake Victoria Gold, "early logging indicates a 15-meter regolith profile over basalt and felsic tuff sequences, including quartz-veined and moderately foliated argillite intercalations that host smokey-grey quartz veins and boxworks, presumably after sulphide." In addition, Barrick advanced planning for diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling along the Itetemia trend, with the intent to evaluate potential repetitions of the known Reef 1 and Reef 2 horizons.

As of September 30, 2025, cumulative project expenditures totaled US$6.66 million of the US$9 million committed under the agreement. LVG may receive contingent payments of up to US$45 million from Barrick, based on future resource thresholds.

Lake Victoria Gold's President and CEO, Marc Cernovitch, stated, "The continued progress by Barrick at Tembo reinforces the long-term potential of this highly strategic asset." Director David Scott added, "The GAIP survey, the extensive aircore program, and the planned diamond and RC drilling all target the same core objective — vectoring toward Bulyanhulu-style mineralization within the Inlier."

On November 26, Lake Victoria also announced initial assay results from its ongoing 4,000-meter drill program at the fully permitted Imwelo Gold Project in northern Tanzania. The first five diamond drill holes have confirmed the vertical continuity of the primary mineralized zone to depths greater than 250 meters, extending beyond the limits of the current open-pit design. These results also revealed additional mineralized lodes in both the hanging wall and footwall, providing potential to increase future resource estimates.

The drill program combines reverse-circulation pre-collars with diamond-core tails, allowing for both cost efficiency and the collection of high-quality geological and geotechnical data to inform final pit design and mine planning. According to the company, the grades and widths intersected so far are consistent with the existing resource model, supporting both resource conversion and expansion goals. With five of the planned twenty-four holes completed and assays processed by MSA Laboratories in Geita, further results are pending.

Lake Victoria Gold's President and CEO, Marc Cernovitch, stated that the initial results met expectations and confirmed the mineralization extends beneath the current pit shell. Exploration Manager Hendrick Mering added that geological continuity and veining align with earlier interpretations, and the depth potential is particularly encouraging. The company indicated that drilling will continue with the goal of refining pit geometry, improving resource classification, and evaluating underground mining potential.

Gold Sector Sees Continued Support Amid Liquidity Shifts and Rate-Cut Expectations

Gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have experienced consistent inflows throughout 2025, according to a Bloomberg analysis published on November 24. The report stated that global holdings in bullion-backed ETFs increased in every month except May and even posted gains during October's market pullback. Analysts attributed the sustained interest to evolving expectations around U.S. monetary policy, noting that a potential revival in Federal Reserve rate-cut plans and uncertainty over the Fed's future composition may be contributing factors supporting gold demand.

A separate commentary from Matthew Piepenburg, also published on November 24, examined broader liquidity dynamics and their influence on the precious metals market. He described cash flow and liquidity as fundamental to market function and argued that recent discrepancies between repo rates and the Federal Funds Rate indicated tightening conditions. Piepenburg highlighted a US$125 billion injection by the Federal Reserve into short-term funding markets as a sign of potential financial stress and noted that gold appeared to be responding to these underlying indicators.

On November 25, Reuters reported that gold prices remained steady following lower-than-expected U.S. retail sales data, which reinforced expectations of a more accommodative Federal Reserve policy. Spot gold was unchanged at US$4,139.79 per ounce after posting a nearly 2% gain earlier in the week.

Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, stated, "There's revived hope for a December rate cut based on recent dovish Fed speak, and this (data) doesn't seem to be changing that." Fed Governor Stephen Miran also pointed to signs of labor market weakness as a potential reason for rate adjustments, while ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista added that continued economic uncertainty and geopolitical risks remained supportive factors for gold prices.

Analysis Highlights Ongoing Development and Exploration Upside

In a November 7 analyst note, Alina Islam, a mining analyst from Red Cloud Securities, presented a positive assessment of the company's ongoing work at both the Imwelo and Tembo gold projects. According to Islam, Lake Victoria Gold is actively progressing toward mine development and continues to advance exploration across its key assets in the Lake Victoria goldfield of Tanzania.

Islam noted that Lake Victoria Gold was "currently completing additional geotechnical work to finalize the pit design at its Imwelo project," a fully permitted gold asset located within the Geita Greenstone Belt. She also reported that the company has conducted 50,000 meters of drilling at the Tembo Project, specifically targeting the Ngula 1, Nyakagwe, and Nyakagwe East zones. According to Islam, CEO Marc Cernovitch stated that Lake Victoria Gold has "just scratched the surface" with exploration drilling at Tembo, which has reached depths of up to 250 meters to date.

Looking ahead, Islam identified multiple upcoming milestones that may support the company's continued progress. These include an updated pre-feasibility study and detailed engineering work for Imwelo, a revised resource model for the project, and the potential for a first gold pour between Q4 2026 and Q1 2027. Islam did not assign a formal rating or target price but outlined the development milestones as key markers for the company's trajectory.

Tembo Partnership Anchors Exploration Activity in Tanzania's Gold Belt

The Tembo Project sits adjacent to Barrick's Bulyanhulu Mine and covers a 32-square-kilometer land package. To date, over 50,000 meters of drilling have been completed across the area. Bulyanhulu's work at the Tembo Inlier, including recent GAIP surveying and AC drilling, is part of a larger exploration program with a US$9 million budget commitment and up to US$45 million in contingent payments to Lake Victoria Gold based on defined resource milestones.

Elsewhere, Lake Victoria Gold is progressing development of its fully permitted Imwelo Gold Project, located 12 kilometers from AngloGold Ashanti's Geita Mine. With over 28,000 meters of drilling already completed, Imwelo's capital expenditure has been estimated at US$15.03 million, including a US$5.67 million processing plant and US$1.45 million in pre-production mining costs. A term sheet has been signed for a gold pre-pay forward purchase facility, and the company is in negotiations with a local banking syndicate for additional financing.

Tanzania remains a focal point for mining development, drawing foreign investment from major players such as BHP and Perseus Mining. According to Lake Victoria Gold's presentation, mining represents more than 50% of the country's exports by value and contributes over US$2.5 billion annually to the economy. The Tembo and Imwelo projects position the company within one of Africa's most active gold-producing regions, supported by strategic partnerships and an experienced technical team. 

Ownership and Share Structure¹

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 8.76%, Rostam Aziz with 8.2%, Simon Charles Benstead with 7.47%, Concept Capital Management Ltd. with 5.83%, and Walter David Scott with 3.08%.

Its market cap is CA$34.21 million. 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.