This annual report contains forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are projections of events, revenues, income, future
economic performance or management’s plans and objectives for our future
operations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by
terminology such as “may”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”,
“believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential” or “continue” or the negative
of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only
predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors, including the risks in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and the
risks set out below, any of which may cause our or our industry’s actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These
risks include, by way of example and not in limitation:
This is not an exhaustive list of the factors that may affect
any of our forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be
considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on our
forward-looking statements.
Forward looking statements are made based on management’s
beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and we
undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs,
estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Although we believe
that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance
or achievements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities
laws of the United States and Canada, we do not intend to update any of the
forward-looking statements to have these statements conform to actual results.
In this annual report, unless otherwise specified, all dollar
amounts are expressed in United States dollars and all references to “common
stock” refer to the common shares in our capital stock.
As used in this annual report, the terms “we”, “us”, “our”, the
“Company” and “Lake Victoria” mean Lake Victoria Mining Company, Inc., and our
wholly owned subsidiaries Kilimanjaro Mining Company Inc., Lake Victoria
Resources (T) Limited, Chrysos 197 Company Tanzania Ltd and Jin 197 Company
Tanzania Ltd, unless otherwise indicated.
ITEM
1A.
RISK FACTORS.
Much of the information included in this annual report includes
or is based upon estimates, projections or other “forward looking statements”.
Such forward looking statements include any projections and estimates made by us
and our management in connection with our business operations. While these
forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are
made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of
our business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from
any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance
suggested herein.
Such estimates, projections or other “forward looking
statements” involve various risks and uncertainties as outlined below. We
caution the reader that important factors in some cases have affected and, in
the future, could materially affect actual results and cause actual results to
differ materially from the results expressed in any such estimates, projections
or other “forward looking statements”.
Risks Associated with Mining
All of our properties are in the exploration stage. There is
no assurance that we can establish the existence of any mineral resource on any
of our properties in commercially exploitable quantities. Until we can do so, we
cannot earn any revenues from operations and if we do not do so we will lose all
of the funds that we expend on exploration. If we do not discover any mineral
resource in a commercially exploitable quantity, our business could fail.
Despite exploration work on our mineral properties, we have not
established that any of them contain any mineral reserve, nor can there be any
assurance that we will be able to do so. If we do not, our business could
fail.
A mineral reserve is defined by the Securities and Exchange
Commission in its Industry Guide 7 (which can be viewed over the Internet at
http://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/forms/industry.htm#secguide7
) as
that part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted
or produced at the time of the reserve determination. The probability of an
individual prospect ever having a “reserve” that meets the requirements of the
Securities and Exchange Commission’s Industry Guide 7 is extremely remote; in
all probability our mineral resource property does not contain any ‘reserve’ and
any funds that we spend on exploration will probably be lost.
Even if we do eventually discover a mineral reserve on one or
more of our properties, there can be no assurance that we will be able to
develop our properties into producing mines and extract those resources. Both
mineral exploration and development involve a high degree of risk and few
properties which are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines.
8
The commercial viability of an established mineral deposit will
depend on a number of factors including, by way of example, the size, grade and
other attributes of the mineral deposit, the proximity of the resource to
infrastructure such as a smelter, roads and a point for shipping, government
regulation and market prices. Most of these factors will be beyond our control,
and any of them could increase costs and make extraction of any identified
mineral resource unprofitable.
Mineral operations are subject to applicable law and
government regulation. Even if we discover a mineral resource in a commercially
exploitable quantity, these laws and regulations could restrict or prohibit the
exploitation of that mineral resource. If we cannot exploit any mineral resource
that we might discover on our properties, our business may fail.
Both mineral exploration and extraction require permits from
various foreign, federal, state, provincial and local governmental authorities
and are governed by laws and regulations, including those with respect to
prospecting, mine development, mineral production, transport, export, taxation,
labour standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, land
use, environmental protection, mine safety and other matters. There can be no
assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain any of the permits required
for the continued exploration of our mineral properties or for the construction
and operation of a mine on our properties at economically viable costs. If we
cannot accomplish these objectives, our business could fail.
We believe that we are in compliance with all material laws and
regulations that currently apply to our activities but there can be no assurance
that we can continue to remain in compliance. Current laws and regulations could
be amended and we might not be able to comply with them, as amended. Further,
there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain all permits
necessary for our future operations, or that we will be able to obtain them on
reasonable terms. To the extent such approvals are required and are not
obtained, we may be delayed or prohibited from proceeding with planned
exploration or development of our mineral properties.
Our business activities are conducted in Tanzania.
Our mineral exploration activities in Tanzania may be affected
in varying degrees by political stability and government regulations relating to
the mining industry and foreign investment in that country. The government of
Tanzania may institute regulatory policies that adversely affect the exploration
and development of properties. Any changes in regulations or shifts in political
conditions in this country are beyond our control and may adversely affect our
business. Investors should assess the political and regulatory risks related to
our foreign country investments. Our operations may be affected in varying
degrees by government regulations with respect to restrictions on production,
price controls, export controls, foreign exchange controls, income taxes,
expropriation of property, environmental legislation and mine safety.
We may not have clear title to our properties.
Acquisition of title to mineral properties is a very detailed
and time-consuming process, and titles to our properties may be affected by
prior unregistered agreements or transfers, or undetected defects. Several of
our prospecting licenses are currently subject to renewal by the Ministry of
Energy and Minerals of Tanzania. As a result, there is a risk that we may not
have clear title to all our mineral property interests, or they may be subject
to challenge or impugned in the future. We have exploration licenses. We do not
have a license to mine any minerals or reserves whatsoever commercially at this
time on any part of our properties. Once exploration has advanced to a point
where mining on one or more of our properties is feasible, we plan to apply for
one or more mining licenses.
If we establish the existence of a mineral resource on any
of our properties in a commercially exploitable quantity, we will require
additional capital in order to develop the property into a producing mine. If we
cannot raise this additional capital, we will not be able to exploit the
resource, and our business could fail.
If we do discover mineral resources in commercially exploitable
quantities on any of our properties, we will be required to expend substantial
sums of money to establish the extent of the resource, develop processes to
extract it and develop extraction and processing facilities and infrastructure.
Although we may derive substantial benefits from the discovery of a major
deposit, there can be no assurance that such a resource will be large enough to
justify commercial operations, nor can there be any assurance that we will be
able to raise the funds required for development on a timely basis. If we cannot
raise the necessary capital or complete the necessary facilities and
infrastructure, our business may fail.
Mineral exploration and development is subject to
extraordinary operating risks. We do not currently insure against these risks.
In the event of a cave-in or similar occurrence, our liability may exceed our
resources, which would have an adverse impact on our company.
Mineral exploration, development and production involves many
risks, which even a combination of experience, knowledge and careful evaluation
may not be able to overcome. Our operations will be subject to all the hazards
and risks inherent in the exploration for mineral resources and, if we discover
a mineral resource in commercially exploitable quantity, our operations could be
subject to all of the hazards and risks inherent in the development and
production of resources, including liability for pollution, cave-ins or similar
hazards against which we cannot insure or against which we may elect not to
insure. Any such event could result in work stoppages and damage to property,
including damage to the environment. We do not currently maintain any insurance
coverage against these operating hazards nor do we expect to get such insurance
for the foreseeable future. If a hazard were to occur, the costs of rectifying
the hazard may exceed our asset value and cause us to liquidate all of our
assets, resulting in the loss of your entire investment in our company.
9
Mineral prices are subject to dramatic and unpredictable
fluctuations.
We expect to derive revenues, if any, either from the sale of
our mineral resource properties or from the extraction and sale of precious and
base metals such as gold, silver and copper. The price of those commodities has
fluctuated widely in recent years, and is affected by numerous factors beyond
our control, including international, economic and political trends,
expectations of inflation, currency exchange fluctuations, interest rates,
global or regional consumptive patterns, speculative activities and increased
production due to new extraction developments and improved extraction and
production methods. The effect of these factors on the price of base and
precious metals, and therefore the economic viability of any of our exploration
properties and projects, cannot accurately be predicted.
The mining industry is highly competitive and there is no
assurance that we will continue to be successful in acquiring mineral claims. If
we cannot continue to acquire properties to explore for mineral resources, we
may be required to reduce or cease operations.
The mineral exploration, development, and production industry
is largely un-integrated. We compete with other exploration companies looking
for mineral resource properties. While we compete with other exploration
companies in the effort to locate and acquire mineral resource properties, we
will not compete with them for the removal or sales of mineral products from our
properties if we should eventually discover the presence of them in quantities
sufficient to make production economically feasible. Readily available markets
exist worldwide for the sale of mineral products. Therefore, we will likely be
able to sell any mineral products that we identify and produce.
In identifying and acquiring mineral resource properties, we
compete with many companies possessing greater financial resources and technical
facilities. This competition could adversely affect our ability to acquire
suitable prospects for exploration in the future. Accordingly, there can be no
assurance that we will acquire any interest in additional mineral resource
properties that might yield reserves or result in commercial mining operations.
If our costs of exploration are greater than anticipated,
then we may not be able to complete the exploration program for our Tanzanian
properties without additional financing, of which there is no assurance that we
would be able to obtain.
We are proceeding with the initial stages of exploration on our
Tanzanian properties. We are carrying out an exploration program that has been
recommended by a consulting geologist. This exploration program outlines a
budget for completion of the recommended exploration program. However, there is
no assurance that our actual costs will not exceed the budgeted costs. Factors
that could cause actual costs to exceed budgeted costs include increased prices
due to competition for personnel and supplies during the exploration season,
unanticipated problems in completing the exploration program and delays
experienced in completing the exploration program. Increases in exploration
costs could result in our not being able to carry out our exploration program
without additional financing. There is no assurance that we would be able to
obtain additional financing in this event.
Because of the speculative nature of exploration of mining
properties, there is substantial risk that no commercially exploitable minerals
will be found and our business will fail.
We are in the initial stage of exploration of our mineral
property, and thus have no way to evaluate the likelihood that we will be
successful in establishing commercially exploitable reserves of gold, silver or
other valuable minerals on our Tanzanian properties.
The search for valuable minerals as a business is extremely
risky. We may not find commercially exploitable reserves of gold, silver or
other valuable minerals in our mineral property. Exploration for minerals is a
speculative venture necessarily involving substantial risk. The expenditures to
be made by us on our exploration program may not result in the discovery of
commercial quantities of ore. The likelihood of success must be considered in
light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delays
encountered in connection with the exploration of the mineral properties that we
plan to undertake. Problems such as unusual or unexpected formations and other
conditions are involved in mineral exploration and often result in unsuccessful
exploration efforts. In such a case, we would be unable to complete our business
plan.
Because our executive officers have limited experience in
mineral exploration and do not have formal training specific to the
technicalities of mineral exploration, there is a higher risk that our business
will fail.
10
Our executive officers have limited experience in mineral
exploration and do not have formal training as geologists or in the technical
aspects of management of a mineral resource exploration company. As a result of
this inexperience, there is a higher risk of our being unable to complete our
business plan for the exploration of our mineral property. With no direct
training or experience in these areas, our management may not be fully aware of
many of the specific requirements related to working within this industry. Our
decisions and choices may not take into account standard engineering or
managerial approaches mineral resource exploration companies commonly use.
Consequently, the lack of training and experience of our management in this
industry could result in management making decisions that could result in a
reduced likelihood of our being able to locate commercially exploitable reserves
on our mineral property with the result that we would not be able to achieve
revenues or raise further financing to continue exploration activities. In
addition, we will have to rely on the technical services of others with
expertise in geological exploration in order for us to carry out our planned
exploration program. If we are unable to contract for the services of such
individuals, it will make it difficult and maybe impossible to pursue our
business plan. There is thus a higher risk that our operations, earnings and
ultimate financial success could suffer irreparable harm and our business will
likely fail.
Risks Relating to Our Common Stock
If we issue additional shares in the future, it will result
in the dilution of our existing shareholders.
Our articles of incorporation authorize the issuance of up to
250,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.00001 per share. Our
board of directors may choose to issue some or all of such shares to acquire one
or more businesses or to provide additional financing in the future. The
issuance of any such shares will reduce the book value and market price of the
outstanding shares of our common stock. If we issue any such additional shares,
such issuance will reduce the proportionate ownership and voting power of all
current shareholders. Further, such issuance may result in a change of control
of our corporation.
Our common stock is illiquid and shareholders may be unable
to sell their shares.
There is currently a limited market for our common stock and we
can provide no assurance to investors that a market will develop. If a market
for our common stock does not develop, our shareholders may not be able to
re-sell the shares of our common stock that they have purchased and they may
lose all of their investment. Public announcements regarding our company,
changes in government regulations, conditions in our market segment or changes
in earnings estimates by analysts may cause the price of our common shares to
fluctuate substantially. In addition, stock prices for junior mineral
exploration companies fluctuate widely for reasons that may be unrelated to
their operating results. These fluctuations may adversely affect the trading
price of our common shares.
Penny stock rules will limit the ability of our stockholders
to sell their stock.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted regulations
which generally define “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market
price (as defined) less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than
$5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. Our securities are covered by
the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on
broker-dealers who sell to persons other than established customers and
“accredited investors”. The term “accredited investor” refers generally to
institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth
in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000 or $300,000 jointly
with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a
transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a
standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the Securities and
Exchange Commission which provides information about penny stocks and the nature
and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must
provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock,
the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction and
monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in
the customer’s account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and
salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in
writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in
writing before or with the customer’s confirmation. In addition, the penny stock
rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt
from these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination
that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the
purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements
may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary
market for the stock that is subject to these penny stock rules. Consequently,
these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade our
securities. We believe that the penny stock rules discourage investor interest
in and limit the marketability of our common stock.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, has
adopted sales practice requirements which may also limit a shareholder’s ability
to buy and sell our stock.
In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, FINRA
has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer,
a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment
is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low priced
securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make
reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax
status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of
these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative
low priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. FINRA
requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their
customers buy our common stock, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our
stock and have an adverse effect on the market for its shares.
11
Because of the early stage of development and the nature of
our business, our securities are considered highly speculative.
Our securities must be considered highly speculative, generally
because of the nature of our business and the early stage of our development. We
are engaged in the business of identifying, acquiring, exploring and developing
commercial reserves of primarily gold and potentially uranium. Our properties
are in the exploration stage only and are without known reserves of gold and/or
uranium. Accordingly, we have not generated any revenues nor have we realized a
profit from our operations to date and there is little likelihood that we will
generate any revenues or realize any profits in the short term. Any
profitability in the future from our business will be dependent upon locating
and developing economic reserves of gold and/or uranium, which itself is subject
to numerous risk factors as set forth herein. Since we have not generated any
revenues, we will have to raise additional monies through the sale of our equity
securities or debt in order to continue our business operations.
We do not intend to pay dividends on any investment in the
shares of stock of our company.
We have never paid any cash dividends and currently do not
intend to pay any dividends for the foreseeable future. To the extent that we
require additional funding currently not provided for in our financing plan, our
funding sources may prohibit the payment of a dividend. Because we do not intend
to declare dividends, any gain on an investment in our company will need to come
through an increase in the stock’s price. This may never happen and investors
may lose all of their investment in our company.
Risks Related to Our Company
Our by-laws contain provisions indemnifying our officers and
directors.
Our by-laws provide the indemnification of our directors and
officers to the fullest extent legally permissible under the Nevada corporate
law against all expenses, liability and loss reasonably incurred or suffered by
them in connection with any action, suit or proceeding. Furthermore, our by-laws
provide that our board of directors may cause our company to purchase and
maintain insurance for our directors and officers, and we have implemented
director and officer insurance coverage.
Because most of our directors and officers are residents of
other countries other than the United States, investors may find it difficult to
enforce, within the United States, any judgments obtained against our directors
and officers.
Most of our directors and officers are nationals and/or
residents of countries other than the United States, and all or a substantial
portion of such persons’ assets are located outside the United States. As a
result, it may be difficult for investors to enforce within the United States
any judgments obtained against our officers or directors, including judgments
predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the
United States or any state thereof.
ITEM
2.
PROPERTIES.
Executive Offices
As of the date of this report, our executive offices are
located at Suite 810, 675 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B
1N2, Canada.
Mineral Properties
Acquisition of Primary Mining Licenses in Singida, Tanzania
On May 15, 2009, the Company signed a Mineral Financing
Agreement with one director of the Company authorizing him, on behalf of the
Company, to acquire Primary Mining Licenses (“PMLs”) in the Singida area. As of
February 7, 2011, this director has entered into Mineral Properties Sales and
Purchase agreements and addendums with various PML owners to acquire PMLs in the
Singida area. As of March 31, 2013, the Company has a 100 percent
ownership of 23 PMLs and 20 PMLs with net smelter production royalty
payments.
12
In May 2011, the Company entered into joint venture agreement
and service agreement with Otterburn. The Company received option payment of
$300,770 in cash and 1,100,000 common shares of Otterburn which were sold to
unrelated parties at a price of CAD$0.10 per share. The Company received
exploration cost reimbursements from Otterburn of $1,137,226. In July, 2011,
Otterburn terminated the agreements.
As of March 31, 2013, under the terms of the mineral properties
sales and purchase agreements the Company has completed option payments in the
amount of $2,058,322. On February 8, 2013, the Company issued a notice of the
final buyout payment of 20 PMLs to the Singida PMLs owners. The payment will be
made in a form of a 2% Net Smelter Production royalty. The Company also agreed
to increase the royalty by 1% to 3% if commercial production is delayed beyond
March 2015.
Acquisition of Primary Mining Licenses in Uyowa, Tanzania
On July 19, 2011, Guardian Investment Ltd, a related party, on
behalf of the Company, entered into a mineral properties option agreement to
acquire four primary mining licenses within the northern most prospecting
license of the seven comprising the Uyowa Gold project. The total consideration
is of $490,000, of which $40,000 was paid in 2012 and $50,000 paid in fiscal
year 2013.
Licenses
The following two tables are complete lists of each gold and
uranium prospecting license that we own by project name, license number, the
area of location, district of its location and the size in square kilometers. We
own no prospecting property other than the following licenses listed on these
two charts. There are no known reserves on these properties and any proposed
programs by us are exploratory in nature.
Table 1: Gold Projects and License List
|
Project
|
License No
|
Area
|
District
|
Size
(SqKm)
|
Ownership
|
|
MUSOMA BUNDA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Murangi
|
PL 4511/2007
|
Masinono
|
Musoma
|
25.82
|
Owned
|
|
Suguti
|
PL 3966/2006
|
Suguti
|
Musoma
|
20.00
|
Owned
|
|
Kinyambwiga
|
PL 4653/2007
|
Kinyambwiga
|
Musoma
|
13.47
|
Owned
|
|
Kinyambwiga -24 PMLs
|
|
Kinyambwiga
|
Musoma
|
(2)
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
59.29
|
|
|
SINGIDA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23 PMLs
|
|
Singida - Londoni
|
Singida
|
(3.27)
|
Owned
|
|
20 PMLs
|
|
Singida - Londoni
|
Singida
|
(1.91)
|
Optioned
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BUHEMBA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL7142/2011
|
Buhemba
|
Kiabakari
|
14.94
|
Owned
|
|
|
HQ-P23869
|
Buhemba
|
Majimoto
|
19.19
|
In Process
|
|
|
|
|
|
34.13
|
|
|
UYOWA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL 4531/2007
|
Uyowa
|
Urambo
|
47.33
|
Owned
|
|
Will expire on May 2013
|
PL7245/2011
|
Uyowa
|
Urambo
|
199.04
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
Kisimani River and
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL 4749/2007
|
|
Urambo
|
17.03
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
Iseramigas
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL 5153/2008
|
Uyowa
|
Uyowa
|
65.07
|
Owned
|
|
|
4
PMLs
|
Uyowa
|
Uyowa
|
(0.34)
|
Optioned
|
|
|
|
|
|
328.47
|
|
13
|
HANDENI
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL7148/2011
|
Manga
|
Handeni
|
12.03
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
12.03
|
|
|
KAHAMA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL6437/2011
|
Kahama South
|
Kahama
|
183.05
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
183.05
|
|
|
NORTH MARA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tarime
|
PL 4882/2007
|
Tarime
|
Nyagisa/Tarime
|
30.79
|
Owned
|
|
Tarime
|
PL 4873/2007
|
Tarime
|
Tarime
|
19.91
|
Owned
|
|
Tarime
|
PL 4225/2007
|
Kiagata
|
Musoma
|
21.17
|
Owned
|
|
Kubaisi Kiserya
|
PL
4833/2007
|
Kiterere Hills
|
Tarime & Serengeti
|
19.91
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
274.83
|
|
|
15
Prospecting Licenses (PLs) - Total SqKm
|
|
|
|
708.75
|
|
|
71
Primary Mining Licenses (PMLs)- Total SqKm
|
|
|
|
7.52
|
|
Table 2.Uranium Projects and License List
|
Project
|
License No
|
Area
|
District
|
Size
(SqKm)
|
Ownership
|
|
MBINGA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL6509/2010
|
Litembo
|
Mbinga
|
199.97
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
199.97
|
|
|
KIWIRA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL4651/2007
|
Makete
|
Makete & Kyela
|
86.11
|
Owned
|
|
|
PL4514/2007
|
Kyela
|
Kyela
|
69.44
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
155.55
|
|
|
NJOMBE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL6526/2010
|
Njombe
|
Makete
|
199.13
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
199.13
|
|
|
LAKE RUKWA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PL6519/2010
|
Chunya
|
Mbeya
|
199.02
|
Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
199.02
|
|
|
5
Prospecting Licenses - Total (Sqkm)
|
|
|
|
753.67
|
|
14
Uranium Projects and License List
Prospective Projects and Properties
The following map is a gold project location map
(Map
1).
For a detailed listing see Licenses – Gold Projects and License List
Map 1: Gold Project Location Map, March 2013
The following map is a uranium project location map
(Map
2).
The “red” is the outline of all of our individual Prospecting Licenses
(PLs or PLRs) that are combined to make a project. Our projects are outlined in
“grey”. For a detailed listing see Licenses – Uranium Projects and License List
15
Map 2: Uranium Location Map, March 2013
Gold Projects
The following is a brief overview of our portfolio of
prospective mineral properties, the exploration developments on them where
applicable and some of the details of the historical option agreements for them.
During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, our exploration work was primarily
concentrated on the Kinyambwiga, Kiabakari East and Uyowa gold projects.
Musoma Bunda Murangi Gold Project
The Musoma Bunda Murangi Project comprises of 3 Prospecting
licences covering 59.29 square kilometers and 24 PMLs totaling 2 square
kilometers.
Minor exploration has been undertaken on the Kinyambwiga
licence (PL 4653/2007) during this period. However, no exploration was conducted
on Suguti (PL
PL3966/2006
) and Murangi
(PL4511/2007)
projects.
Exploration Strategy
The Kinyambwiga licence has been reduced from 30.90 square
kilometers to 15.45 square kilometers as part of the required Government
relinquishment of 50 percent of the ground holdings on licence renewal. The
southern part of the licence area, largely covered by black cotton soil and
underlain by granitic rocks with no known artisanal workings, has been
relinquished. The northern part of the licence is host to the Kunanga 1 to 3
artisanal mine sites. The relinquished area is currently under application on
account of a soil anomaly in the NE corner of the licence.
The new artisanal mining site, located 1 kilometer along strike
to the east of Kunanga 2, appears to have been abandoned with the artisanal
miners moving to Kanunga 3 in the northern part of the licence.
The Kunanga 1 Prospect has been earmarked for small scale
mining operations that will proceed once necessary funding and the issuing of a
Mining Licence has been achieved. Currently, a scoping study involving
metallurgical test work, mine planning and scheduling together with financial
evaluations have been undertaken on the prospect. A total capital investment of
US$3M has been targeted for the project.
16
Metallurgical Test work
Metallurgical test work has been completed by Peacock and
Simpson, Zimbabawe and later by Met-Solve Laboratories, Canada in order to
determine the percentages of gravity recoverable gold (free gold), flotation and
cyanide leachable gold.
A 105 kilogram sample of the quartz vein at Kunanga 1 was
collected from 3 working artisanal shafts (
Table 3)
that varied from 14
meters to 44 meters in depth. Samples of quartz with disseminated pyrite and
minor visible gold were collected from the working face and vary in size from
+10 centimeters to small chippings. An equal portion of sample was collected
from each shaft, composited, split and then packed, of which 50 kilograms were
shipped to Peacock and Simpson and the remaining 55 kilograms was later sent to
Met-Solve Laboratories.
Table 3: Location and depth of artisanal shafts at the
Kunanga 1 Prospect
|
.
Shaft ID
|
Easting
|
Northing
|
Elevation
|
Status
|
Depth(m)
|
|
KNSH001
|
581135
|
9776874
|
1191
|
Active
|
17.5
|
|
KNSH002
|
581147
|
9776878
|
1190
|
Active
|
15
|
|
KNSH003
|
581148
|
9776880
|
1190
|
Active
|
25
|
|
KNSH004
|
581158
|
9776884
|
1189
|
Active
|
31
|
|
KNSH005
|
581167
|
9776884
|
1188
|
Dormant
|
9.6
|
|
KNSH006
|
581177
|
9776884
|
1189
|
Dormant
|
8.6
|
|
KNSH007
|
581189
|
9776878
|
1190
|
Dormant
|
7.3
|
|
KNSH008
|
581197
|
9776892
|
1191
|
Dormant
|
8
|
|
KNSH009
|
581205
|
9776896
|
1191
|
Active
|
18.3
|
|
KNSH010
|
581246
|
9776914
|
1190
|
Dormant
|
5.1
|
|
KNSH011
|
581290
|
9776944
|
1193
|
Dormant
|
9.3
|
|
KNSH012
|
581320
|
9776922
|
1191
|
Active
|
17
|
|
KNSH013
|
581324
|
9776924
|
1191
|
Active
|
15.2
|
|
KNSH014
|
581339
|
9776938
|
1192
|
Active
|
3.2
|
|
KNSH015
|
581353
|
9776950
|
1190
|
Active
|
11
|
|
KNSH016
|
581355
|
9776948
|
1191
|
Active
|
22
|
|
KNSH017
|
581358
|
9776948
|
1192
|
Active
|
20
|
|
KNSH018
|
581364
|
9776958
|
1191
|
Active
|
12
|
|
KNSH019
|
581368
|
9776950
|
1192
|
Dormant
|
20
|
|
KNSH020
|
581377
|
9776954
|
1191
|
Active
|
44
|
|
KNSH021
|
581386
|
9776958
|
1191
|
Dormant
|
15.4
|
|
KNSH022
|
581390
|
9776958
|
1191
|
Active
|
17
|
|
KNSH023
|
581382
|
9776964
|
1192
|
Active
|
14.6
|
|
KNSH024
|
581382
|
9776968
|
1192
|
Dormant
|
15
|
|
KNSH025
|
581387
|
9776976
|
1192
|
Active
|
6
|
Sampled Shafts for Metallurgical test work
The following basic tests were applied:
-
Determination of gravity recoverable gold
-
Determination of gravity recoverable gold + flotation using 2 different
flotation reagents.
-
Determination of gold from cyanide leach over time
17
Slight differences in the methodology conducted by each of the
Labs were reported but overall results are comparable.
Results
1.
Peacock and Simpson
The bulk rock sample, assaying 7.24 grams per tonne, was
crushed to 100 percent passing minus 1.0 millimeter size and then transferred to
a Knelson concentrator; this early stage liberation test yielded a 24.2 percent
gold recovery.
Fine grinding of the rock material to a size of 80 percent
minus 0.075 millimeters and then transferring the material to a Knelson
concentrator yielded a 54.5 percent gold recovery.
Agitated leaching of the gravity tails for a 24 hour period
resulted in a gold recovery of 84.1 percent.
The overall, gold recovery from Fine Grinding with Knelson
Concentration and Agitated Leaching totalled 92.7 percent.
Additional flotation tests were also carried out using:
|
|
i.
|
Gravity tails after impact crushing to minus 1millimeter
having a head grade of 5.52g/t gold
|
|
|
ii.
|
Gravity tails after milling to 80 percent passing 75
microns having a head grade of 3.37g/t gold
|
A single stage flotation test was undertaken using a
Denver D12 Laboratory flotation machine under the flowing conditions of
CuSO
4
, SIBX (Sodium isobutyl Xanthate) and Dowfroth conditioning.
Results indicate:
|
|
i.
|
Gold recovery of 18.7 percent of float feed (minus 1
millimeter)
|
|
|
ii.
|
Gold recovery of 58.3 percent of float feed (80 percent
passing 76 microns)
|
A 2
nd
flotation test was carried out on gravity
tails of which 80 percent passing 75 micron assaying 3.30g/t gold under
different chemical conditions of CuSO
4
, PAX (Potassium
amyl Xanthate) and Dowfroth conditioning.
Results indicate an improved gold recovery of 64.4 percent of
the float feed.
Total recoveries, including gravity recoverable gold is
summarised:
-
Gravity + CIL (leaching) = 92.7 percent recovery
-
Gravity + SIBX flotation = 81.0 percent recovery
-
Gravity + PAX flotation = 83.8 percent recovery
A Bond Index (BWi) of 19.48 was established for the sample.
2.
Met-Solve Laboratories
The bulk rock sample, assaying 9.80 grams per tonne, was
crushed to 100 percent passing minus 0.071 millimeter size and then processed
through the Falcon L40 concentrator 3 times and yielded a gold recovery of 60.6
percent.
Two flotation tests were carried out on the gravity tails using
Copper sulphate + potassium amyl Xanthate (PAX) and Methyl isobutyl Carbinol +
sodium silicate (MIBC). Gold recoveries of 59.5 percent and 61.5 percent
respectively were obtained. The sodium silicate did not assist in improving gold
recoveries. Overall gravity + flotation returned recoveries of 85.2 percent and
85.6 percent respectively.
The flotation concentrates as well as a sub-sample of the
gravity tails were subjected to cyanide leach tests for 48 hours with aliquots
being collected at 1, 6 and 24 hours. Gold recoveries on the flotation
concentrate were between 94.2 percent to 94.7 percent within 3 hours whereas
only 88.5 percent was obtained from the gravity tails with most of the gold
being recovered within a 24 hour period, This represents an overall recovery
(gravity + flotation + leaching) of 84.0 percent and 84.2 percent respectively
for each of the reagents used whereas the overall gravity + cyanide leach
(by-passing the flotation ) achieved an overall gold recover of 95.6 percent.
Results are summarised in
Table 4.
18
Table 4: Summary of results
|
|
|
Peacock & Simpson
|
Met-solve (Head grade
|
|
|
|
(Head
grade
7.24
g/t
Au)
|
9.80 g/t
Au)
|
|
|
|
|
Tail
|
|
Tail
|
|
|
|
Gold
|
Grade
|
Gold
|
Grade
|
|
Test
type
|
Head
grade
9.80 g/t
Au
|
Recover
(%)
|
(G/t Au)
|
Recover (%)
|
(G/t Au)
|
|
Gravity (grind
size-<1 millimetre)
|
|
24.2
|
5.51
|
-
|
-
|
|
Gravity (grind size
-0.071 millimetres)
|
|
54.5
|
2.53
|
60.6
|
3.82
|
|
|
Reagent 1: CuSO4 + Potassium amyl xanthate
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gravity + Flotation
|
(PAX)
|
83.8
|
1.17
|
85.2
|
1.41
|
|
|
Reagent 2: CuSO4 + Sodium isobuty lXanthate
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(SIBX)
|
81
|
1.38
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
Reagent 3: Methyl Isobutyl Carbinol (MIBC)
|
-
|
-
|
85.6
|
1.39
|
|
Gravity + CIL on gravity tails*
|
|
92.7
|
0.51
|
95.5
|
0.46
|
|
Gravity + Flotation
+ CIL on Float Cons (Reagent 1)
|
|
-
|
-
|
84
|
1.41
|
|
Gravity + Flotation + CIL on Float Cons (Reagent 3)
|
|
-
|
-
|
84.2
|
1.39
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*Residence time 24
hours
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mine Planning
The Kunanga 1 Prospect comprises of a small gold target that
has been estimated from 40 meter spaced reverse circulation drill sections and
trenches to contain a conceptual taget of between 600,000 and 1,000,000 tonnes
of economically significant mineralization at grades between 1.50 and 2.00 gpt
in the three vein structures at Kanunga 1 on the Kinyambwiga property within the
first 150 and 200 meters of surface. Continuity of the narrow quartz veins
appears to extend for a strike length of some 500 meters.
It is currently proposed to mine the mineralization by open pit
mining methods using an excavator and trucks to transport the ore to an onsite
processing plant. A vertical test pit to a depth of 8 meters was excavated in
granitic saprolite (host rock) at site using a Caterpillar 320 excavator in a
relatively short time of 3 hours. The results of the test pit proved good
retaining rock wall strength, ease of excavation and the lack of ground
water.
Based on these results, a pit slope of 55 degrees was modeled
for the open pit to a depth of 40 meters (
Map 3)
. The proposed site plan
showing location of pit, waste dumps and processing plant is shown in
Map
4.
The Mining and Mill plan is designed for processing 300 tonnes
per day (
Chart 1
).
19
Map 3
: Oblique view of the conceptual open pit on the
Kunanga conceptual resource looking from the SW towards the NE along strike of
the gold enriched quartz vein.
Map
4
:SitePlan
20
Chart
1:
Flow sheet diagram showing the
conceptual processing plant
Environmental Impact Study
In order to apply for a Mining Licence over the 24 PMLs that in
part overlie the Kunanga 1 Prospect, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
study must first be carried out and an EIA Certificate obtained.
TANSHEQ, an established and experienced Tanzanian consulting
firm specializing in Environmental Management, has been awarded the contract to
complete the Environmental Impact Assessment study for the Kanunga 1 Prospect.
Field studies were undertaken at the end of 2012 and a draft report including a
Scoping report, a baseline study and the EIA report, has been submitted to the
National Environment Management Council (NEMC), which is the Government body
responsible for issuing the EIA certificate by the Minister responsible for
Environment. A site visit by a team of NEMC officials is expected to be
undertaken during May 2013 and once this site visit has taken place, the final
EIA report will be prepared by TANSHEQ and then the report will be submitted for
approval by the Ministry of Environment.
In the meantime, the Company has embarked on an awareness
campaign with the Ministry of Mines, Environment, Lands and Water affairs as
well as with the local inhabitants of the area who would be affected by the
planned mining activities. To date many meetings have been held with local
District representatives together with the village council and village
inhabitants; all are in favour of the planned project.
Concurrently, an application to acquire an additional 15 PMLs,
adjoining and covering the area immediately to the south and north of the
current PML boundary has been submitted. An application to amalgamate all 39
PMLs into one mining licence is part of the current process (
Map 5
).
21
Map 5:
Plan showing the 24 PMLs plus 15 additional PMLs
to be amalgamated into a single licence
Future work
The completion of the EIA report and awarding of the Mining
Licence is of top priority. Only once this licence has been obtained, can the
Company finalize its decision on whether to proceed with the current or a
revised mine plan.
The prospective area to the east of the Kunanga 1 Prospect
Exploration and referred to as the Kunanga School Anomaly requires follow-up
investigation.
The anomalous stone layer as encountered from previous RAB
drilling during 2009 as well as the soil anomaly over the school requires
further investigation. A number of auger drill traverses are planned to test the
strike towards the SW where a number of anomalous soil samples have been
indicated
(Map 6
). Since this area was previously relinquished as part of
the Government requirement to reduce the PL area by 50 percent,, an application
to renew the area of “shed-off” is pending approval by the Ministry of Mines.
22
Map 6: Kanunga 1 East and School soil anomalies
Suguti (PL3966/2006)
No exploration work has
been undertaken on the Suguti licence during the course of the year.
Future Exploration
Since the northern part of the Suguti Licence has been
relinquished as part of the Government requirement to reduce the PL by 50
percent, the area of “shed-off” must first be re-instated prior to commencing
any further exploration. Should the area be awarded to the Company, further
exploration will be focused mainly at Targets 1 and 3 across the known soil
anomalies
(Map 7).
Infill soil sampling, including Auger drilling over
mbuga covered areas, has been undertaken along 200 meter N-S traverse lines on
10 meter sample intervals in order to define the present soil anomalies. To date
157 samples including 84 auger drill samples, have been collected and are
pending submission to SGS laboratories Mwanza. Results will determine whether a
trenching programme is warranted across the targets.
Additional auger drill sampling is planned to be undertaken on
the 200 ppb gold anomaly as well as the strike extensions of Zones 1,2 and 3 of
Target 1 where no sampling has yet been undertaken (
Map 7
).
23
Map 7: Current state of exploration on the Suguti Licence
showing present coverage of Auger drill and soil sampling across 3 target areas.
Murangi(PL4511/2007)
The southern part of the Murangi Licence has been relinquished
as part of the Government requirement to reduce the PL by 50 percent; the area
of “shed-off”
(Map 8).
No exploration has been undertaken during the
year.
Future Exploration
Should the licence be retained, exploration will be focused
primarily on 5 ground magnetic targets (
Map 8
) in which the following
work is to be undertaken:
i. Mapping of
the target areas on 1:2000 scale
ii. Gradient
IP survey across the entire license
iii Auger
drilling, with the Company’s recently purchased Auger Rig, across each of the
Ground magnetic and IP Targets to soil sample beneath the “mbuga” cover.
24
Map 8: Target generation map of the northern part of the
Murangi PL4511/2007 based on ground magnetic interpretation. The Block, outlined
in purple and representing 50 percent of the original licence, has been
relinquished.
Singida Gold Project
Company personnel first visited the Singida project area during
March, 2009 and became aware of the high level of artisanal (small scale) gold
mining that was being conducted along an estimated five (5) kilometer
mineralized zone. Subsequently, on May 15, 2009, the Company signed a Mineral
Financing Agreement with one director of the Company authorizing him, on behalf
of the Company, to acquire Primary Mining Licenses (“PMLs”) in the Singida area.
As of February 7, 2011, this director has entered into Mineral Properties Sales
and Purchase agreements and addendums with various PML owners to acquire PMLs in
the Singida area. As of March 31, 2013, the Company has 100% acquired 23 PMLs
and 20 PMLs with net smelter production royalty payments. These PMLs have been
100 percent acquired by this director on behalf of the Company. As of March 31,
2013, under the terms of the mineral properties sales and purchase agreements we
have completed option payments in the amount of $2,058,322. On February 8, 2013,
we issued a notice of the final buyout payment of 20 PMLs to the Singida PMLs
owners. The payment will be made in a form of a 2% Net Smelter Production
royalty. The Company also agreed to increase the royalty by 1% to 3% if
commercial production is delayed beyond March 2015.
We commenced a Phase 2 Reverse Circulation drilling program in
March 2011, centered at the Sambaru 2, 3, 4 and 5 Prospects as well as exploring
a number of exploration targets within the Singida-Londoni northwest trending
shear zone at Sambaru 5 and between Sambaru 3 and Sambaru 4 in which 92
boreholes, totaling 9,023 meters have been drilled. All boreholes, collared
along northeast trending drill fences, are inclined at -50 degrees to -65
degrees either to the northeast or to the southwest. Total meters drilled in
both Phase 1 (August 2010) and Phase 2 drill programmes amounts to 15,536 meters
(Map 9).
No exploration has been undertaken between March 2012 and
31
st
March 2013
25
Map 9: Plan of the Sambaru Prospects showing main gold
intersections
Future exploration
An evaluation of the Reverse Circulation drill results for both
Phase 1 and 2 programs undertaken during 2010 and 2011 has shown that gold
mineralization at the Singida-Londoni project consists of narrow, medium to low
grade and often discontinuous lenses. The shear structures hosting the gold-rich
zones typically “pinch and swell” along strike, which in places, has resulted in
larger pods of limited size as at Sambaru 3 and Sambaru 4 which indicates that
the gold deposits have limited potential to be developed into a major ore
resource contrary to the Company’s vision of discovering substantially larger
and economically viable gold deposits in the short term. In this regard, the
Company believes that the nature and extent of the mineralization revealed thus
far may lend itself towards a small-scale commercial mining operation. The
Company intends to explore the possibilities of undertaking a small scale mining
operation on a number of PMLs once a scoping study has been completed.
Although the Company completed a Technical report in compliance
with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 prior to the June 2010 revised code, it
was not submitted. The report is to be prepared under the revised
guidelines.
Buhemba Gold Projects
The Buhemba Gold projects comprise of the Kiabakari East
(PL7142/2007) and the recently acquired Maji Moto (HQ-P23869) licenses
.
Kiabakari East (PL7142/2011)
The Kiabakari East Project is located approximately 55
kilometers southeast of Musoma town, in the Mara Region. The PL, covering 14.94
square kilometers and lying within the central part of the Musoma-Mara
Greenstone Belt, was granted to Lake Victoria Resources by the Ministry of Mines
in April 2011.
26
The PL was previously investigated by Randgold Resources who
excavated a number of N-S trenches across a small hill, rising some 50 meters
above the landscape, comprised of Banded Iron Formation (BIF Hill) rocks in the
central to southern part of the PL. They also undertook 3 N-S drill fences,
totaling 24 reverse circulation drill holes, along strike to the east of the BIF
hill. No information is currently available. Minor artisanal mining activities
are present on the BIF hill. The eastern part of the license at the Kyarano
Prospect was invaded by + 500 artisanal miners during 2011 who exposed a NNE-SSW
trending gold bearing structure hosted by a quartz porphyry dyke within a
metasedimentary rock sequence. Mining activities have subsequently been reduced
due to ground water problems and underground cave-ins.
Exploration Strategy
The following exploration work has been completed across the
Kiabakari East License:
-
Landsat Imagery for the license area and surrounding environs.
-
Detailed mapping
-
Trenching (342.7 meters) including the re-opening of existing trenches as
well as new trenches were mapped and sampled across BIF Hill. Notable results
include but are not limited to
1.87g/t gold over 33.69 meters
as shown
in
Table 5
.
-
Regional geological mapping
-
In-house ground magnetic surveying along 200 meter spaced N-S traverse
lines
-
In-house Gradient IP Survey was undertaken along the same grid as used for
the ground magnetic survey
-
Regional rock sampling of specific localities on the PL
-
Termite mound sampling
-
Soil sampling – regional sampling on 200 meter x 50 meter centers
utilizing the geophysics grid
-
Schlumberger Survey- Schlumberger VES on N-S and E-W profiles were
undertaken across BIF Hill and the artisanal workings at the Kyarano Prospect
respectively (
Table 6, Map 10
).
-
Four inclined diamond drill holes, amounting to 648.72 meters, were
collared on the southern side of BIF Hill on 40 meter spaced N-S drill fences
and drilled to the north at declinations of 50 and 55 degrees to test and
define the geometry of the BIF hosted gold mineralization (
Table 7
).
All boreholes intersected wide zones of anomalous gold mineralization
including
1.03 g/t gold over 37.50 meters
and
0.58g/t Au over 43.35 meters,
inclusive of higher grade
intersections
of
1.75 g/t gold
over 6.13 meters
and
2.05 g/t over 3.00 meters
(
Table 8
)
Table 5: Summary of trench results
|
Trench ID
|
Interval (m)
|
Au g/t
|
|
KT003
|
11.90
|
1.31
|
|
KT004
|
33.69
|
1.87
|
|
Including
|
4.03
|
6.96
|
|
KT005
|
2.10
|
1.31
|
|
KT008
|
28.35
|
1.22
|
|
KT009
|
22.70
|
1.54
|
|
KT010a
|
6.00
|
1.09
|
Table 6: Schlumberger VES profiles across BIF Hill and the
Kyarano Prospect
|
BIF HILL
|
FROM
|
TO
|
|
|
EASTING
|
NORTHINGS
|
LENGTH (m)
|
|
597200E
|
9799450
|
9799750
|
300
|
|
597400E
|
9799400
|
9799700
|
300
|
|
*597560E
|
9799700
|
9799500
|
200
|
|
*597580E
|
9799400
|
9799625
|
225
|
|
*597600E
|
9799400
|
9799700
|
300
|
|
*597620E
|
9799400
|
9799700
|
300
|
|
597800E
|
9799300
|
9799600
|
300
|
27
|
598000E
|
9799300
|
9799600
|
300
|
|
598200E
|
9799280
|
9799540
|
260
|
|
598400E
|
9799200
|
9799500
|
300
|
|
598600E
|
9799400
|
9799700
|
300
|
|
KYARANO PROSPECT
|
|
|
|
|
NORTHING
|
EASTINGS
|
|
|
9799850S
|
599000
|
599120
|
120
|
|
9799700S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
9799650S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
9799500S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
9799300S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
9799100S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
9798900S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
9798700S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
9798500S
|
599000
|
599400
|
400
|
|
Uncompleted
|
|
|
|
*Significant IP anomalies
Inconsistent IP results were noted from the surveys undertaken
across the Kyarano workings which failed to distinguish the pyritized quartz
porphyry rock.
A distinct chargeability with low resistivity, situated some
100 meters north of the interpolated strike extensions of the mineralised BIF
unit, was noted from a number of E-W Schlumberger profiles undertaken across BIF
Hill (
Table 6
).
28
Map 10: Plan of BIF Hill and Kyarano Prospects showing
position of Schlumberger profiles and diamond drill collars
Diamond drilling
A total of 4 inclined diamond drill holes, amounting to 648.72
meters, was collared on the southern side of BIF Hill on 40 meter spaced N-S
drill fences and drilled to the north at declinations of 50 and 55 degrees to
test and define the geometry of the BIF hosted gold mineralization, comprising
of chert, siltstone and greywackes (
Table 7
).
Table 7: Diamond Drill Programme
|
BHID
|
Prospect
|
Section
|
Easting
|
Northing
|
Elevation
|
Az
|
Dip
|
Length
|
Comments
|
|
KED001
|
BIF Hill
|
597580E
|
597580
|
9799434
|
1280.4
|
0
|
-50
|
157.03
|
Completed
|
|
KED002
|
BIF Hill
|
597540E
|
597540
|
9799438
|
1278.8
|
0
|
-50
|
154.48
|
Completed
|
|
KED003
|
BIF Hill
|
597620E
|
597620
|
9799430
|
1287.2
|
0
|
-50
|
130.48
|
Completed
|
|
KED004
|
BIF Hill
|
597620E
|
597620
|
9799380
|
1279.8
|
0
|
-55
|
206.73
|
Completed
|
|
Total
|
648.72
|
|
|
KED007
|
Kyarano
|
9799700N
|
599153
|
9799700
|
1242.7
|
90
|
-50
|
120
|
Proposed
|
|
KED008
|
Kyarano
|
9799460N
|
599100
|
9799460
|
1255.1
|
90
|
-50
|
120
|
Proposed
|
Each borehole was drilled across the BIF package of rocks
comprising of cyclic sequences of siltstone and banded cherts having an overall
width of 80 meters, until the footwall pebble conglomerate unit was encountered
on the northern side of the hill. The BIF unit dips steeply to the south.
Occasional intraformational sedimentary slump breccias are stratigraphically
present. The unit has been complexly folded. A possible NNE trending fault is
present which appears to have displaced the eastern part of the ore shoot some
40 meters to the north as well as being responsible for down-throwing the BIF
unit to the east (
Map 11
).
29
Map 11: Plan of BIF Hill showing results of trench and drill
holes and interpolated position of NNE fault.
Massive sulphides, consisting of syngenetic magnetite and
pyrrhotite-rich bands occur throughout the BIF unit. Crackle brecciation and
fracturing is more common in the brittle chert beds which are often infilled
with later pyrrhotite and/or pyrite mineralization. Gold is associated with the
sulphide filled fractures as well as within zones of massive pyrite and, to a
lesser extent, massive pyrrhotite mineralization.
All the core was cut in half by a rock saw with the half core
(or quarter core if over wider intervals of >1 meter) being sampled according
to the intervals as per geologic log. Strict quality control has been maintained
in which 5 percent of the sample batch, comprising 20 samples, contained a
blank, a Commercial Standard and a duplicate. The samples batches were submitted
to SGS Laboratory Mwanza for 50gm Fire assay.
Results
The limited drill programme of 648.72 meters intersected wide
zones of anomalous gold mineralization throughout all four boreholes drilled
including
1.03 g/t gold over 37.50 meters and
0.58g/t Au
over 43.35 meters,
inclusive of higher grade intersections of
1.75
g/t gold over 6.13 meters
and
2.05 g/t over 3.00 meters
.
Mineralized intercepts are summarized in
Table 8
below.
30
Table 8: Summary of Diamond drill intercepts
Hole No.
|
Total Depth
(m)
|
Section
|
Azimuth
(deg)
|
Decline
(deg)
|
From (m)
|
To (m)
|
Interval
(m)
|
Au (g/t)
|
|
KED001
|
157.03
|
597580E
|
0
|
-50
|
60.00
|
109.30
|
49.30
|
0.27
|
|
Including
|
60.00
|
63.00
|
3.00
|
2.05
|
|
KED002
|
154.48
|
597540E
|
0
|
-50
|
48.00
|
85.50
|
37.50
|
1.03
|
|
Including
|
52.20
|
56.00
|
3.80
|
3.31
|
|
|
71.90
|
76.60
|
4.70
|
1.98
|
|
KED003
|
130.48
|
597620E
|
0
|
-50
|
57.55
|
64.70
|
7.15
|
0.42
|
|
and
|
87.50
|
118.00
|
30.50
|
0.32
|
|
KED004
|
206.73
|
597620E
|
0
|
-55
|
76.05
|
83.00
|
6.95
|
0.44
|
|
and
|
107.24
|
112.60
|
5.36
|
0.89
|
|
and
|
145.40
|
188.75
|
43.35
|
0.58
|
|
Including
|
145.40
|
151.53
|
6.13
|
1.75
|
|
and
|
181.20
|
182.03
|
0.83
|
1.21
|
|
and
|
185.40
|
186.97
|
1.57
|
1.17
|
The gold mineralization, having been offset by the NNE fault,
plunges steeply to the east. Anomalous gold mineralization of greater than 250
ppb gold was encountered over substantial widths in each of the boreholes with
improved grades being intersected in the deeper hole (KED004) drilled to the
east. Mineralization is open down dip and along strike both to the west and down
plunge to the east (
Map 12
).
Map 12: Longitudinal Section across BIF Hill showing
interpolated plunge of the gold-rich sulphide zone shown as a bar graph along
the edge of the drill hole trace.
31
Kyarano Prospect
The Kyarano Prospect, located on the eastern side of the
Kiabakari East Permit, is a recent artisanal site in which, at one time, up to
+500 illegal miners have been active. Shafts, aligned along a NNE trend were
sunk into a quartz porphyry/felsite “dyke” rock for a strike distance of some
400 meters. Mining activities decreased as flooding of the shafts occurred from
15-20 meters below ground. A number of the shafts were sampled and assayed for
gold by 50 gm fire assay, results of which are shown in
Table 9 and Map
10.
Table 9: Results of shaft sampling at the Kyarano
Prospect
Prospect
|
Pit_ID
|
East
(Arc60)
|
North
(Arc60)
|
SANO
|
Au
ppm
|
Description
|
|
Kyarano
|
KP023
|
599210
|
9799682
|
A22984
|
0.47
|
Qtz vein - 7m depth
|
|
Kyarano
|
KP0024
|
599212
|
9799646
|
A22985
|
0.06
|
Light grey felsite/qtz porphyry
-10m depth
|
|
Kyarano
|
KP0025
|
599255
|
9799608
|
A22986
|
0.11
|
Light grey felsite/qtz
porphory-9m depth
|
|
Kyarano
|
KP0026
|
599176
|
9799566
|
A22987
|
0.01
|
Light grey felsite/qtz
porphory-8m depth
|
|
Kyarano
|
KP0027
|
599162
|
9799500
|
A22988
|
1.74
|
Light grey felsite/qtz pophory-7m
depth
|
|
Kyarano
|
KP0028
|
599164
|
9799454
|
A22989
|
0.93
|
Light grey felsite/qtz
porphory-5m depth
|
|
Kyarano
|
KP0029
|
599260
|
9799470
|
A22990
|
19.8
|
Light grey felsite/qtz
porphory-5m depth
|
Diamond drilling
A short drilling programme was initially planned to test the
NNE trending pyritic quartz felsite porphyry at the Kyarano Prospect located on
the eastern side of the project area some1.5 kilometers east of BIF Hill. Two
boreholes, collared 240 meters apart on E-W drill fences
(Table 7)
were
to test the area 80 meters beneath the active artisanal workings
in order to examine the hosting lithologies and alteration associated with this
known gold mineralisation. However, due to budget constraints, the two diamond
drill holes were not drilled.
NW Prospect
A number of old trenches were discovered in the northwestern
corner of the licence immediately south of the granite – greenstone contact
(
Map 13
).
Map 13: Aerial photograph of the trench excavations
undertaken by Rand Gold in the NW part of the Kibakari East Licence (after
Google Earth).
32
The area is underlain by BIF rocks comprising of chert and
siltstone rocks. It is cut by a N-S trending quartz diorite dyke. Two areas of
artisanal mining have exposed highly oxidized and leached sulphidic zones within
the BIF rocks. A number of grab samples were collected and Fire assayed for gold
by SGS Laboratories Mwanza (
Table 10
).
Table 10: Results of rock samples taken from artisanal
workings in highly oxidized and leached BIF
|
Sample No
|
Easting
|
Northing
|
Au (g/t)
|
Comments
|
|
283694
|
596490
|
9800764
|
0.02
|
Silicified shear zone, intensely
leached
|
|
283695
|
596490
|
9800764
|
0.03
|
As above
|
|
283696
|
596505
|
9800800
|
0.02
|
Silicified, intensely leached +
Sulphur
|
|
283697
|
596506
|
9800802
|
0.01
|
Silicified BIF
|
Future exploration
Metallurgical test work is to be undertaken on the oxide rock
material taken from artisanal working and trenches on surface as part of the
scoping study to determine the viability of commencing and open pit/underground
small scale mining operation at BIF Hill. In order to get a better understanding
of the geology and gold mineralisation, the Company is considering developing a
north trending adit form the southern side at the base of the hill at a later
date.
Maji Moto Gold Project (HQ-P23869)
A recent acquisition to the North Mara group of licences is the
Maji Moto licence that was awarded to the Company by the Ministry of Mines
through application and tender in April 2012. The licence is situated in the
North Mara Greenstone Belt (Eastern Musoma Goldfields) approximately 28
kilometers to the SW of African Barrick’s North Mara Gold Mine (
Map 14
).
Map 14:
Location map of Maji Moto HQ-P23869
Note: HQ-O23869 is the Application number. The licence has yet
to be allocated a PL number by the Ministry.
33
Artisanal workings
:
Three artisanal sites are present in the northern part of the
licence (
Map 15
):
|
|
1.
|
Located at Kitarahota Hill, some 2 kilometres east of
Maji Moto village is actively being mined by a relatively small group of
artisanal miners. The site, located on the lower slope of the Kitarahota
Hill, consists mostly of surface workings.
|
|
|
2.
|
Nyamarubiti Hill, located in the north-eastern arm of the
licence was an active artisanal site in 1980s and is only being worked
sporadically by a handful of artisanal miners.
|
|
|
3.
|
Kebosi Hill, situated on the NW arm of the PL and east of
the much larger Kitengara Hill. This site does not appear to be as
extensively mined as site 2 and is currently not being mined by artisanal
miners.
|
Map 15: Geology of HQ-P23869
Other than a reconnaissance visit to the licence, exploration
has not yet commenced.
The following exploration strategy (Phase 1) will be followed
as soon as a field camp is established on site:
-
Regional ground Magnetic survey
-
Regional mapping of the licence
-
Regional soil sampling on 200 meter x 50 meter sample grid
-
Detailed mapping and soil/rock sampling at and around the artisanal sites
-
Schlumberger profiles across the known artisanal sites.
Phase 2 will be dependant on the results achieved from the
Phase 1 exploration programme.
Uyowa Gold Project
The Uyowa Gold project, located 120 kilometers northwest of
Tabora town, previously consisted of seven (7) Prospecting Licenses (PLs) that
initially covered a total area of 729.73 square kilometers in the west-central
area of Tanzania. Due to increased Ministerial costs of annual renewals coupled with the Company’s objective
to focus its exploration efforts on more potentially viable ground holding, the
number of licenses has been reduced to 4 PLs amounting to 328.47 square
kilometers (
Table 1
,
Map 16
).
34
Map 16: Current licence holdings of the Uyowa Project
Exploration
Exploration has been primarily focused in the northern license
blocks PL 3425/2007 (since relinquished) and PL5153/2008 of Target 3
.
PL5153/2008
was previously investigated by Ashanti Gold in 2003, in
which they undertook 999 meters of Reverse Circulation drilling. The area is now
an active artisanal mining site. The following work has been undertaken on PL
5153/2007 (
Map 17
) since exploration commenced from March 2011 through to
31
st
March 2013.
PL 5153/2007
-
Regional Mag survey on 200 meter spaced N-S lines covering a 12 kilometers
x 6 kilometers grid
-
Gradient array survey on 400 meter spaced N-S lines across the optioned
PML and extending out along strike across a grid of 10 kilometers x 4
kilometers
-
Soil sampling on 200 meters x 50 meter grid across a grid area of 2.25
kilometers x 10 kilometers (excluding the artisanal site
-
Schlumberger profiles
-
Regolith mapping
-
Detailed mapping
-
Termite mound sampling
-
Soil and termite mound sampling - on 200 meter x 50 meter grid totaling
2616 samples. All the anomalous gold values occur as single point values along
the known E-W zone of gold mineralization. A single maximum value of 400 ppb
gold occurs on the far eastern side of the trend (
Map 18
).
-
Shaft sampling
-
A total of 29 reverse circulation drill holes, amounting to 2,486 meters,
was drilled to test the down-dip continuity of thickness and grade as well as
exploring the strike extensions of the 4 main mineralized zones across the
PMLs, was completed in September 2011
(Map 19
). Notable results to date
include:
17.6 g/t over 6 meters, 7.95 g/t Au over 9 meters,
4.1 g/t
over 10 meters and 10.41 g/t over 3 meters
inclusive of a number of
significant 1 meter intervals of 103 g/t Au, 33 g/t Au and 24 g/t Au
respectively.
35
-
A total of 11 diamond drill holes, amounting to 1459 meters, aimed at
defining and understanding the structural controls of the 4 gold veins across
300 meters of strike length within the central to western parts of the 1700
meter long E-W shear zone, was undertaken from March to May 2012 (
Map
20
). Gold mineralization was traced to a vertical depth of some 150
meters. Notable results include:
27.3 g/t Au over 0.40 meters
,
16.3g/t over 0.35 meters, 3.05g/t Au over 4 meters
and
2.21 g/t Au
over 6 meters
Map 17:
Grid layouts of exploration surveys
undertaken across the artisanal workings and environs on PL 5153/2008
36
Map 18: Soil geochemistry map showing main anomalous gold
trends
Map 19: Reverse Circulation borehole collar plan showing
gold intercepts along the mineralised zone
37
Map 20:
Distribution and location of shear hosted
gold structures as defined by RC and by diamond
drilling.
Diamond drilling
The 1459 meter diamond drill program, primarily aimed at
defining and understanding the structural controls of the 4 gold veins across
300 meters of strike length within the central to western parts of the1700 meter
long E-W shear zone, was undertaken from March to May 2012. The 11 hole program,
planned on 40 meter spaced N-S sections, also tested the down-dip extensions of
mineralization to a vertical depth of some 150 meters. A total of 1459 meters
was drilled in 11 boreholes (
Table 11, Map 21
).
Table 11:
Diamond drill programme
|
|
|
Easting (Arc
|
Northing (Arc
|
Az
|
Dip
|
Length
|
|
|
BHID
|
Section
|
60)
|
60)
|
(o)
|
(o)
|
(m)
|
Elevation
|
|
UDD001
|
389960E
|
389960
|
9506197
|
180
|
-65
|
165.18
|
1108
|
|
UDD002
|
389920E
|
389920
|
9506182
|
180
|
-60
|
139.84
|
1108.4
|
|
UDD003
|
390000E
|
390000
|
9506206
|
180
|
-60
|
155.24
|
1109.3
|
|
UDD004*
|
390040E
|
390040
|
9506160
|
180
|
-65
|
79.98
|
1110.6
|
|
UDD005
|
390040E
|
390040
|
9506218
|
180
|
-60
|
140.52
|
1110.9
|
|
UDD008
|
390200E
|
390205
|
9506242
|
180
|
-65
|
134.88
|
1112.6
|
|
UDD009
|
390320E
|
390318
|
9506254
|
180
|
-65
|
114.96
|
1113.8
|
|
UDD010
|
389720E
|
389717
|
9506158
|
180
|
-60
|
132.98
|
1110
|
|
UDD011
|
390840E
|
390840
|
9506315
|
180
|
-64
|
116.78
|
1112
|
|
UDD06
|
390080E
|
390080
|
9506216
|
180
|
-60
|
145.83
|
1110.4
|
|
UDD07
|
390120E
|
390120
|
9506211
|
180
|
-65
|
130
|
1105.8
|
|
* "Twin" hole to URC014
|
38
Map 21:
Diamond drill collar plan
Drilling has revealed that the gold mineralization is hosted by
a number of semi-continuous ductile shears zones of up to 7 meters wide and
containing disseminated pyrite mineralization, dipping between 55 to 70 degrees
to the north. In all sections, the mineralized gold zones have been traced to
vertical depths of 100 meters and are open at depth.
A “twin” hole was drilled to compare the gold grades and widths
in order to increase gold grade confidence of the previous RC drilling results
and to work towards establishing a gold resource.
A single diamond drill hole was drilled at either end of the
known mineralized zone, confirming the presence of the mineralized shear zone
continuing out along strike both to the east and to the west.
All borehole samples across the mineralized zones were split,
sampled and analysed using 50 gm Fire assay by SGS Laboratories Mwanza. Strict
quality control was maintained throughout the sampling procedure with 5 percent
of each of the sample batches having a blank, duplicate and commercial standard
inserted as part of the sample stream.
Results
Notable results including
27.3 g/t Au over 0.40 meters,
16.3g/t over 0.35 meters, 3.05g/t Au over 4 meters
and
2.21 g/t Au over 6
meters
, are shown in
Table 12
.
Table 12: Summary of Diamond Drill intercepts
Hole No.
|
Total
Depth
(m)
|
Section
|
Azimuth
(deg)
|
Decline
(deg)
|
From
(m)
|
To (m)
|
Interval (m)
|
Au g/t
|
|
UDD001
|
165.18
|
389960E
|
180
|
-65
|
104.00
|
108.00
|
4.00
|
3.05
|
|
UDD002
|
139.84
|
389920E
|
180
|
-60
|
96.00
|
102.00
|
6.00
|
2.21
|
|
including
|
98.50
|
98.80
|
0.30
|
11.4
|
|
UDD003
|
155.24
|
390000E
|
180
|
-60
|
47.65
|
48.45
|
0.80
|
1.61
|
|
and
|
104.00
|
107.00
|
3.00
|
1.44
|
|
UDD004
|
79.98
|
390040E
|
180
|
-65
|
45.00
|
48.00
|
3.00
|
5.6
|
39
|
including
|
46.60
|
47.00
|
0.40
|
27.3
|
|
UDD005
|
140.52
|
390040E
|
180
|
-60
|
115.00
|
116.30
|
1.30
|
2.01
|
|
and
|
119.30
|
119.70
|
0.40
|
1.75
|
|
UDD006
|
145.83
|
390080E
|
180
|
-60
|
90.35
|
96.00
|
5.65
|
0.9
|
|
UDD007
|
130
|
390120E
|
180
|
-65
|
81.00
|
85.00
|
4.00
|
2.67
|
|
and
|
98.00
|
105.80
|
7.80
|
1.27
|
|
including
|
100.50
|
101.00
|
0.50
|
6.97
|
|
UDD008
|
134.88
|
390200E
|
180
|
-65
|
79.90
|
80.20
|
0.30
|
1.48
|
|
UDD009
|
114.96
|
390320E
|
180
|
-65
|
91.50
|
91.85
|
0.35
|
16.3
|
|
UDD010
|
132.98
|
389720E
|
180
|
-60
|
95.85
|
96.30
|
0.45
|
1.1
|
|
UDD011
|
116.78
|
390840E
|
180
|
-64
|
6.40
|
7.90
|
1.50
|
1.07
|
|
and
|
100.30
|
100.90
|
0.60
|
1.36
|
Drilling successfully intersected the mineralized lenses as
identified from the RC drill program of August 2011. Diamond drilling has
further defined the geometry of the mineralized zones comprised of 2 gold
lenses, situated approximately 25 meters apart, dipping moderately to the north
at 65 degrees. The dip of the 2 lenses steepens to 75 degrees further along
strike to the east
(Map 20).
The southern lens is the more dominant of
the two gold structures in having both a higher gold grade and a more continuous
strike length. Gold mineralization is hosted by pyrite within narrow ductile
shear zones having a maximum intersected width of 7.8 meters.
The distribution of gold in Lens 2 suggests that there are 3,
equally spaced gold “shoots” of approximately 80 meters broad plunging at 30
degrees to the west which are open at depth
(Map 22).
A left lateral
fault on the western side of the main drilling target has offset the strike of
the lenses by some 100 meters. Some of the highest grade gold intercepts, which
have been reported from drilling, occur in the western shoot. The central and
eastern ore shoots appear to have lower overall gold grades and narrower
intercepts.
Map 22:
Longitudinal section showing gold
distribution plot along strike of mineralized zone.
40
Future exploration
Interpretation of the ground magnetic survey suggests the
presence of a graben structure that coincides with the last of the artisanal
workings on the western side of known mineralized zone. The area, unlike the
artisanal site where laterite is often exposed on surface, is overlain by sand
cover for some 500 meters to the west before lateritic soils are again present
suggesting possible continuation of the mineralized trend further to the west.
Landsat imagery clearly shows areas of laterite and lateritic soil over the
area. Based on the recent soil geochemistry results, follow up specific soil
sampling is planned across the interpolated trend of gold mineralization to both
the west and east of the artisanal workings covering a total strike length of
3.5 kilometers as shown in
Map 23.
Conventional soil sampling is planned across areas of lateritic
soil cover. Initially a RAB program is recommended to test the intervening areas
covered by black cotton soil (“mbuga’). However, prior to embarking on such a
program, an orientation survey using enzyme geochemistry is recommended as a
trial study over a portion of the area to be sampled. Should results be positive
further sampling incorporating this geochemical method will continue to be used
to outline the gold anomaly.
Follow-up investigation using possibly both methods of soil
sampling will be undertaken across a number of ground magnetic targets (
Map
24
) in order to prioritize targets for later testing by RAB drilling.
Reverse Circulation infill drilling is recommended on 40 meter
spaced N-S sections across the artisanal site in order to undertake a resource
calculation. Furthermore, part of the program will also focus on testing the
soil anomaly along strike.
41
Map 23: Soil sampling plan to trace the strike extensions of
the mineralized gold structure across PL5152/2008.
Map 24: TMI map over the artisanal area and environs
42
Handeni Gold Project
The Handeni Project, initially comprised of three (3)
Prospecting Licenses and covering a total area of 200.59 square kilometers
(
Table 13
), is located approximately 240 kilometers by road north-west of
Dar es Salaam and some 30 kilometers south of Handeni town within the Handeni
District (
Map 25
). Subsequent exploration has resulted in both the Amani
(PL7002/2011) and the Mkulima East (PL7148/2011) licenses being relinquished and
the properties have been returned to their prospective owners. The Company has
retained 100% of the mineral rights of the remaining PL4816/2007.
Table 13: Details of Handeni Region Prospecting
Licenses
|
License ID
|
Area
|
Area (km2)
|
|
7002/2011
|
Amani
|
172.36
|
|
7148/2011
|
Mkulima East
|
12.00
|
|
4816/2007
|
Mkulima
|
16.23
|
|
Total
|
200.59
|
Map 25: Location map of the Handeni Project showing the PLs
in red.
Exploration
No exploration was undertaken on the Handeni Project during the
year. A brief summary of the status of proposed future exploration PL4816/2007
is given:
43
Future exploration
An infill soil sampling programme on 100 meter x 25 meter grid
is recommended across the Mkulima Hill (188 samples) in order to better define
the apparent gold anomalies prior to planning a trenching programme across the
main anomalous zones (
Map 26
). Should a trenching programme be warranted,
further soil sampling on 100 meter x 50 meter grid is proposed around the hill
on 200 meter x 50 meter grid (623 samples) to increase the area of investigation
and strike extend of the gold anomalies (
Table 14 , Map 26
).
Map 26: Soil sampling grids across Mukulima East outlining
potential soil anomalies
Table 14: Planned soil grid across the Mkulima East Licence
|
|
From
|
To
|
Length
|
50
|
|
Section
|
East (Arc 60 37S)
|
North (Arc 60 37S)
|
East (Arc 60 37S)
|
(m)
|
Sample Number
|
|
9358900E
|
407400
|
9358900
|
410250
|
2850
|
58
|
|
9358500E
|
407400
|
9358500
|
410250
|
2850
|
58
|
|
9358100E
|
407400
|
9358100
|
410250
|
2850
|
58
|
|
9357700E
|
407400
|
9357700
|
410250
|
2850
|
58
|
|
9357700E
|
407500
|
9357700
|
410200
|
2700
|
55
|
|
9357300E
|
407600
|
9357300
|
410150
|
2550
|
52
|
|
9357100E
|
407650
|
9357100
|
408300
|
650
|
14
|
|
|
408325
|
9357100
|
408450
|
125
|
6
|
|
9357000E
|
407700
|
9357000
|
410100
|
2400
|
49
|
|
9356900E
|
408200
|
9356900
|
409150
|
950
|
39
|
|
9356800E
|
407650
|
9356800
|
408250
|
600
|
13
|
|
|
409250
|
9356800
|
410050
|
800
|
17
|
|
9356700E
|
408300
|
|
409450
|
1150
|
47
|
44
|
9356600E
|
407750
|
9356600
|
408450
|
700
|
15
|
|
|
409250
|
9356600
|
409500
|
250
|
6
|
|
9356500E
|
409450
|
9356500
|
409650
|
200
|
5
|
|
9356400E
|
407800
|
9356400
|
408550
|
750
|
16
|
|
9356325E
|
408900
|
9356325
|
409600
|
700
|
29
|
|
9356250E
|
408100
|
9356250
|
409200
|
1100
|
23
|
|
|
409000
|
9356250
|
409750
|
750
|
31
|
|
9356150E
|
409200
|
9356150
|
409600
|
400
|
17
|
|
9356050E
|
409200
|
9356050
|
409600
|
400
|
9
|
|
|
409200
|
9356050
|
409650
|
450
|
19
|
|
|
409700
|
9356050
|
409850
|
150
|
4
|
|
9355850E
|
408150
|
9355850
|
409800
|
1650
|
34
|
|
9355850E
|
408250
|
9355850
|
410200
|
1950
|
40
|
|
9355450E
|
408350
|
9355450
|
410250
|
1900
|
39
|
|
Total samples
|
|
|
|
|
811
|
|
25m centres
|
(Total samples 188)
|
PHASE 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
50m centres
|
(Total samples 623)
|
PHASE 2
|
Kahama Project
Kahama South (PL6437/2011)
The Kahama South Project area is situated approximately 35
kilometres south of the town of Kahama in the central part of Tanzania. It
covers an area of 183.05 square kilometres within the Kahama Greenstone Belt.
Exploration
Regional exploration has been conducted across the licence,
together with the adjoining licence (PL6341/2010) to the north that has since
been relinquished (
Map 27
), and includes:
-
Regional mapping
-
Ground Magnetic survey
45
Map 27: Location and geology map of the Kahama South Project
The Ground Magnetic survey was undertaken along 400
meter-spaced north-south traverse lines and covered a total of 615 line
kilometers (
Map 28
).
Map 28: Ground Magnetic survey coverage of the Kahama South
Licence
46
Results
Interpretation of the Ground Magnetic survey is shown in
Map
29
. The eastern part of prospect comprises of a high magnetic north-south
trending “horst block” comprising of biotite-rich granite. Similar north-south
grabens are interpolated to be present on the western side of the licence. These
major structures appear to have been later displaced by NW-SE as well as NE-SW
faults that cut across the licence.
Reconnaissance mapping
The area is largely covered by black cotton soil (“mbuga”
clay). Outcrop, when present consists entirely of granitoid rocks, partly
magnetized, with minor pegmatite development in places (
Map 30
).
No recent or past artisanal mining activities were found within
the prospect. However, a small area of artisanal mining is being carried on some
100 meters to 200 meters from the SW corner of the licence along a SE-SW
trending ridge. The geology of the ridge, unlike that found over the licence, is
dominated by surface laterite, BIF, metasediments and metavolcanic rocks. And is
similar to the geology of Nyang’ombe hills located some 2 kilometres from the
western boundary licence.
Map 29 Total Magentic Field map and structural
interpretation of the Kahama South
Licence
47
Map 30: Outcrop map of the Kahama South Licence
Kahama Shinyanga (PL3439/2005).
The Kahama Shinyanga project (PL 3539/2005) is located in
central to northern Tanzania, is about 130 kilometers north from the Kahama
South Project,110 kilometers northwest of the town of Shinyanga and 50
kilometers southeast from Bulyanhulu Mine. The licence area covers 48 square
kilometers.
A brief period of exploration involving ground magnetic surveys
and regional mapping was conducted before the licence was relinquished in June
2012.
Exploration
The area is typically flat lying area and is largely covered by
"mbuga". A ground magnetic survey was undertaken along 200 meter-spaced N-S
traverse lines concurrently with field mapping in which a total of 233 traverse
line kilometers were surveyed (
Map 31
).
48
Map 31: Ground Magnetic survey coverage across the Kahama
Shinyanga PL.
A prominent magnetic anomaly is present in the SW corner of the
permit which was found to be the result of a unit of Banded Iron Formation
striking NE across the licence. This has been cut by a NNW trending dyke.
Similar north-trending dykes are shown in the western part of the licence
(
Map 32
).
Map 32: Total Horizontal Gradient
The geology of the Kahama Shinyanga project is underlain by
Archaean rocks of the Kahama Greenstone belt and comprise of granites,
meta-volcanics and sedimentary rocks including BIF which crops out on Kalunde
hill in the SE part of the licence. Laterites, partially cementing the BIF are
present on the lower slopes of Kalunde Hill. No active artisanal mining is
present on the licence although previous pitting has been noted in the BIF on
Kalunde Hill. Active mining is being carried out approximately 200 meters south
of the licence boundary at Mahiga and at Namba Tano (
Map 33
) in the
western part of the area.
49
Map 33: Geology map of the Kahama Shinyanga Licence
Future exploration
With little to no artisanal gold mining being undertaken on the
licence and the apparent lack of prominent shear zones cutting through the BIF,
the prospectivity of the licence is considered low. When the licence expired and
came up for renewal, it was decided to relinquish it and return it back to the
Ministry of Mines in June 2012.
North Mara Gold Projects
The North Mara Gold Project, now comprising of 4 Prospecting
licences and covering 274.83 square kilometers (
Table 1 & Map 1
), has
been divided into 2 blocks, namely the Tarime-Utegi and the Kubiasi Kiserya
project which includes the Kiagata Project. Six of the 10 licences previously
held by the Company have been relinquished after reconnaissance exploration
indicated poor potential to discover an economic resource within the near
future. Minor, or lack thereof, of artisanal activity is evident on these
licences.
No exploration activities were undertaken on any of the
licences during the last fiscal year.
Tarime & Utegi
The remaining Tarime PL4882/2005, Utegi PL4873/2007 and Kiagata
PL4225/2007 licences, from a previous 6 PLs are located on the western side of
the North Mara Greenstone Belt. Since much of the area is overlain by “mbuga”
soils, target generation was undertaken by detailed structural analysis of both
Magnetic and IP data. The detailed aeromagnetic survey data, undertaken by the
Finnish Geological Survey (2003), was purchased from the Government and
processed. A number of magnetically interpreted structural targets have been
delineated for field investigation. Both licences are considered of low
priority.
Kiagata
The Kiagata project (PL4225/2007), located within the North
Mara Greenstone belt, is situated in the Musoma District and is about 30
kilometers from Musoma Town, the main commercial hub in the area. The project is
located immediately south of the Mara River and west of the Serengeti National
Park. A reconnaissance survey involving mapping, termite mound sampling, and
selected soil and rock sampling were carried out but results suggest that no
gold mineralization is present on the property. The licence is underlain by
barren granitic rocks. The licence is to be relinquished.
50
Future Exploration
Previous interpretation of the aero-magnetic data revealed a
number of targets defined by deep-seated cross-cutting structures. However no
artisanal workings, indicative of gold are present on the licence. Much of the
area is overlain by “mbuga” clay. The potential to discover a gold resource in
the immediate future is considered low. On account of austerity measures and the
need to focus on a number of key projects within the Company’s portfolio, these
licences are expected to be relinquished as soon as the rental term expires. No
further work is to be undertaken on the licences.
Uranium Projects
The Company currently holds 6 Prospecting licences for Uranium,
located in the SW part of Tanzania and covering 803 square kilometers (
Table
2 & Map 2
). Due to the economic downturn on Uranium exploration coupled
with the Company’s intention to stream line its gold portfolio, these licences
will be relinquished once their rental term expires.