Grade Control Drilling Puts Tanzania Gold Project on Path to Mining

Important Disclosures:

1. Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports. The company pays a monthly sponsorship fee of US$3,000–US$6,000 for banner advertising and an enhanced company profile page. Streetwise Reports’ editorial content is fully independent and is not influenced by sponsorship. 
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. 
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. 
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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

Ownership percentages, named holders, share count, market capitalization, and the 52-week range for Lake Victoria Gold were compiled from company public filings and investor materials, exchange notices, insider-trade reports (SEDI / equivalent), and third-party data providers. Figures are as of 2026-11-11 unless a source was dated earlier. Pie slices are normalized to 100% of basic shares outstanding; retail is the residual after disclosed institutions, management, insiders, and strategic holders. Warrant terms are current outstanding series only. Restructures are historical consolidations, splits, and symbol or name changes. Insider buying and selling covers open-market trades from the prior six months through 2026-11-11 and excludes option exercises. These are public-source estimates and can differ from a later official register.

• Lake Victoria Gold started an approximately 6,500-meter grade control drilling program on November 4 at Area C, the planned first open pit at its fully permitted Imwelo Gold Project in Tanzania. The company calls it a shift from resource definition to mine planning.
• The close-spaced drilling will support final pit design, mining schedules, and an initial stockpile of mineralized material. The company is targeting completion by the end of February 2027.
• Earlier drilling confirmed Area C mineralization to more than 250 meters vertical depth, and August results included 28.71 grams per tonne gold over 2.75 meters from 21 meters.
• Metallurgical tests showed gold recoveries of up to about 96-97% from transitional and fresh material. Pretreatment raised extraction from the shallow weathered material to 84.54%, and optimization work continues.
• Site development is advancing: road repairs are done and the construction camp is substantially complete. Taifa Mining will handle contract mining, and Barrick is an equity investor.
• Atrium Research has a Buy rating and a CA$0.65 target on the stock. Red Cloud Securities flagged that a separate slimes circuit may be needed for the weathered ore.
• The company has not completed a feasibility study at Imwelo, so any production decision carries higher risk.

Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. (LVG:TSX.V; LVGLF:OTCQB; E1K:FSE) is moving beyond defining the gold at its Imwelo Gold Project in Tanzania and into planning how to mine it. On November 11, the company announced that it had begun an approximately 6,500-meter reverse circulation grade control drilling program at Area C, the planned first open pit at the fully permitted project. The company called the program an important transition from resource definition to production-oriented mine planning.

Grade control drilling is different from exploration drilling. Instead of trying to find more gold, the company is mapping near-surface material in close detail to show where ore ends and waste rock begins. Area C is where mining is expected to start. Drilling is on a staggered 10-meter by 10-meter grid targeting the top 20 meters of the planned pit. One rig is on site, a second is being mobilized, and the company is targeting completion by the end of February 2027.

The results will support final pit design, grade control, mining schedules, and the planned establishment of an initial stockpile of mineralized material. The data will also help limit dilution, refine the mining sequence, and plan pre-stripping.

"Commencing grade control drilling is an important milestone in Imwelo's progression toward production," said President and CEO Marc Cernovitch. "We are moving beyond defining mineralization and into the detailed preparation of the first mining benches."

The new program builds on drilling completed in late 2025 and early 2026. That work confirmed Area C mineralization continues to more than 250 meters vertical depth, extending below the current pit design. The drilling also identified more mineralization beyond the pit's eastern and western edges, plus zones in the footwall and hanging wall. The company said that points to potential resource growth and a larger pit down the road.

More recent results, announced August 27, confirmed high-grade gold close to surface:

• Hole IMWDR029 returned 28.71 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 2.75 meters from 21 meters, including 59.77 g/t over 1.3 meters.
• Hole IMWDR028 returned 12.2 g/t gold over 4.5 meters from 32 meters, including 27.94 g/t over 1.9 meters.

Metallurgical testing reported this year showed gold recoveries of about 96-97% from transitional and fresh material. For the shallow, clay-rich weathered material, the company found that pretreating it by scrubbing and desliming raised 24-hour gold extraction from 49.99% to 84.54%. The company noted that these results do not represent overall plant recovery and that optimization work continues.

Site development is advancing alongside the drilling. Initial access road repairs are complete, the construction camp is substantially complete, and clearing and earthworks continue across key mine infrastructure areas.

Lake Victoria Gold has lined up experienced partners. Taifa Mining, which the company describes as Tanzania's largest mining contractor, will handle all contract mining and civil works at Imwelo, and its parent, Taifa Group, has agreed to take an equity stake in the company.

Atrium Research analyst Ben Pirie had reiterated a "Buy" rating and a CA$0.65 price target on Lake Victoria Gold.

Barrick Mining Corp. (ABX:TSX; B:NYSE) has also made an equity investment. Lake Victoria Gold also owns 100% of the Tembo project, next to Barrick's Bulyanhulu mine.

Investors should note that the company has not completed a feasibility study establishing mineral reserves at Imwelo. Its earlier studies were done under Australia's JORC code and are not current under Canada's NI 43-101 rules. Any decision to begin production would therefore carry higher economic and technical risk, the company said.

"With site development advancing in parallel, we are making tangible progress toward our objective of bringing Imwelo into production," Cernovitch said.

Imwelo's push toward mining follows metallurgical testwork that two analysts reviewed in September, after the company announced its preferred processing route for Area C's near-surface material on September 24. Their views are especially relevant now, since the new grade control drilling targets that same area.

In a September 25 note, Red Cloud Securities analyst Alina Islam called the headline results positive but flagged a possible complication. She noted that "the head grade of the pretreated material dropped from 3.80 g/t Au to 2.87 g/t Au, implying ~25% of the gold is reporting to the slimes."

Islam said Imwelo's nuggety gold could have distorted the head grades. Even so, she wrote, the results suggest "a separate slimes treatment circuit may be required, adding capital and complexity to a US$15M build, especially as Area C is the first to be mined."

"That said, it is better to identify and address these issues in the lab than at commissioning, and we look forward to seeing additional test results," she wrote. In its November 11 release, the company said optimization of the weathered-material processing is ongoing.

A day earlier, Atrium Research analyst Ben Pirie had reiterated a "Buy" rating and a CA$0.65 price target on Lake Victoria Gold, calling the results an important step for Imwelo.

"Notably, today's positive metallurgical testwork was performed on near-surface ore at Area C, which is currently the planned initial mining area," he wrote. "By largely derisking the processing portion of this mining phase, we are more confident in LVG's ability to bring this operation into production with limited issues."

Gold initially rebounded on Wednesday. Spot gold rose 0.6% to US$4,057.33 an ounce in early trading, Reuters reported. That came a day after the metal fell nearly 3% when hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data lifted bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike in December. However, gold later surrendered its gains, with Reuters reporting spot gold at US$3,999.42 by 11:39 a.m. ET. The metal remained more than US$185 an ounce above its one-year low of US$3,869.85 on October 30, according to The Nation.

Last week's US midterm elections added support. Gold jumped back above US$4,000 on November 4 as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields fell after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, Political.org reported. Before the vote, the World Gold Council said a divided Washington could raise political and geopolitical risk premiums. It also said weaker equities, lower yields, and a weaker dollar would likely support gold.

The biggest buyers remain committed. Central banks added a net 321 tonnes of gold to their reserves in the third quarter, up 42% from a year earlier and the most in any quarter since late 2024, the World Gold Council reported. Year-to-date purchases total 675 tonnes, 6% ahead of the same period in 2025.

For a developer like Lake Victoria Gold, the price backdrop matters. Even after pulling back from January's record, gold is trading well above where it was before its run began in 2025, which supports the economics of near-term, low-capital projects like Imwelo.

What did Lake Victoria Gold announce?

On November 11, the company said it had started an approximately 6,500-meter reverse circulation grade control drilling program at Area C of its Imwelo Gold Project. Drilling began November 4, and the company is targeting completion by the end of February 2027.

What is grade control drilling?

It's close-spaced drilling used to plan mining, not to find new gold. At Imwelo, it will map the top 20 meters of the planned Area C pit on a 10-meter by 10-meter grid, showing where ore ends and waste rock begins.

What results has Area C produced so far?

Earlier drilling confirmed mineralization to more than 250 meters vertical depth, below the current pit design. August results included 28.71 g/t gold over 2.75 meters and 12.2 g/t gold over 4.5 meters, both close to surface.

What do the metallurgical tests show?

Gold recoveries reached up to about 96-97% from transitional and fresh material. For the shallow, clay-rich weathered material, scrubbing and desliming raised 24-hour extraction from 49.99% to 84.54%. The company says these aren't overall plant recoveries and that optimization continues.

What do analysts say?

Atrium Research's Ben Pirie reiterated a Buy rating and a CA$0.65 target in September, saying the testwork largely derisked processing for the first mining phase. Red Cloud Securities' Alina Islam called the results positive but said a separate slimes treatment circuit may be required.

Who are Lake Victoria Gold's partners?

Taifa Mining, which the company describes as Tanzania's largest mining contractor, will handle contract mining and civil works at Imwelo, and its parent, Taifa Group, has agreed to take an equity stake. Barrick has also invested in the company.

What are the main risks?

The company has not completed a feasibility study establishing mineral reserves at Imwelo, and its earlier studies aren't current under NI 43-101. As a result, any decision to begin production carries higher economic and technical risk.