Gold
| Project Name: | LAKE VICTORIA GOLDFIELD (LVG) DODOMA SOUTH |
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| (16 March 2009) New Gold Zone at the Buckreef Licence | |||
| Location: | Lake Victoria Goldfield | ||
| With the exception of the Majimoto South licence which lies to the northeast of Mwanza all gold licences occur to the south of Mwanza within the Shinyanga and Mwanza districts. | |||
| Dodoma South | |||
| Both licences (Mtera and Isaya River) are located approximately 100-130km south to southeast of Dodoma, the legislative capital of Tanzania. | |||
| Area: | Lake Victoria Goldfield | 1,037km2 | |
| Dodoma South | 1,446km2 | ||
Access:
Lake Victoria Goldfield
Access across the LVG area is generally good with a number of tar roads servicing the major towns. Access to all licences is via gravel roads. Airstrips are located at Geita and Shinyanga. The area is well serviced to the growing mining industry. Geita can be accessed from Mwanza via the Kamanga ferry crossing.
Ferry Crossing from Mwanza to Kamanga, on the way to Geita, Complete with RC rig and compressor
Geology:
Lake Victoria Goldfield
The Lake Victoria Goldfield (LVG) is located within the granite-greenstone terrane of the Archaean Tanzanian Craton. The craton is surrounded by mobile belts of varying ages with the Mozambique Belt to the east, the Paleoproterozoic Ubendian Belt to the southwest and the Mesoproterozoic Karagwe - Ankolean Belt to the northwest.
Most known gold deposits and occurrences are within in the greenstone belts, but gold has been found within the granitoids. The largest greenstone belts include the Sanza-Geita Belt (Geita Mine and Tulawaka Mine); the Sarama-Rwamagaza Belt (Buckreef Mine); and the Ushirombo Belt (Jubilee Reef Mine), all of which have widespread gold mineralisation with active mines and/or operations in development.
Six types of mineralisation have been classified:
- banded iron formation (BIF) hosted;
- shear zone type;
- vein type (usually quartz);
- clastic sediment hosted alluvial/eluvial; and
- massive sulphide type deposits.
Notes on selected individual licences
Mwadui (Shinyanga)
Shinyanga related announcements
The licence is located in the Shinyanga District, approximately 14km north of the relatively large town of Shinyanga; the main town of the region. There is good access via Shinyanga Airport with flights between Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Kilimanjaro.
Immediately to the north and east of the property, there are kimberlite occurrences with this kimberlite province hostingthe Mwadui (formerly Williamson) Diamond Mine, the largest known kimberlite pipe in the world to host an economic diamond deposit. Known gold mineralisation in the area is hosted by sheared biotite granite with vertical narrow quartz veins occurring along the shear zone.
Looking East across the Mwadui Licence
Artisanal and small scale mining are operating approximately 1,000m to the east of the licence area near to Mwanubi village with a small field camp established consisting of approximately 30 straw and mud huts and approximately 50 artisanal miners.
Buckreef
Buckreef related announcements
The property is located in the Geita District, approximately 30km southwest of the AngloGold and Ashanti co-owned and operated Geita Gold Mine and approximately 45km by road from the adjacent large town of Geita. From Geita town, there is a tarmac road and then a fairly even gravel road passing through a number of small mud and straw hut villages to the licence; this route also leads to the Bukombe & Geita licence area which is situated less than 5km to the south.
Clear evidence for the presence of gold mineralisation is the artisanal mining occurring throughout the area with miners working small pits and small scale ball mills seen in several villages, particularly those adjacent to the Nyikonga River that passes through both the Buckreef and, Bukombe and Geita licences.
Typical View across the Buckreef Licence
Bukombe and Geita
The Bukombe & Geita licence area is situated less than 5km to the south of the Buckreef Property in a very similar geological setting. Access follows the same route as to the Buckreef licence.
Nzega
There is good access via Shinyanga Airport with routes from Dar es Salaam and Mwanza. The licence area is located approximately 60km to the southwest of Shinyanga town and 65km east of Kahama with access via a tarmac road that runs through the licence area on a north-south line between Nzega town and Shinyanga to the north.
Artisanal mining was observed approximately 2km to the northeast of the licence area in the form of small scale ball mills and washing facilities with approximately 50 artisanal miners, both men and women, working on site.
Barrick Gold Corporation holds prospect licences bounding the licence to the south and a short distance to both the east (<15km) and west (<5km) of the area. Golden Pride Mine (Resolute Ltd) is situated less than 2km to the north. The Kilimanjaro Mining Company is also prospecting approximately 30km north east of the licence.
Bukoli A (North) and Bukoli B (South)
Bukoli A and Bukoli B are situated less than 2km apart in the Geita District of the Mwanza Region, approximately 120km south the city of Mwanza and 85km north of Kahama town. Bukoli town sits on the eastern edge of the Bukoli B property. The properties can be accessed from Mwanza by car ferry across Lake Victoria and then gravel track via Geita town.
Inspecting Abandoned Artisanal Workings at Bukoli B
Jubilee Reef
The Jubilee Reef licence is located in the Kahama District of the Shinyanga Region, less than 100km west of Shinyanga and approximately 125km south of Mwanza city. The property lies at the southern end of the Siga Hills in the Siga-Mabale Greenstone Belt. Access to the property is via an unmade road from Kahama, a large town located less than 30km to the south of Jubilee Reef.
The property is located less than 2km east of the Jubilee Reef mine and 40km south of the Barrick operated Bulyanhulu Gold mine. The licence area occurs within the Kahama Greenstone Belt that also hosts the Bulyanhulu Gold Mine, comprises a thick sequence of volcanoclastic and chemical sediments of the Upper Nyanzian system.
South Tulawaka
Access to the property is via a tarmac road which runs from the railhead at Isaka to the Burundi border, to within 20km south of the licence area from where gravel tracks lead to the licence. A gravel road leads to Geita further north and the airstrip at Geita Gold Mine is suitable for small planes, although it is not serviced by commercial passenger carriers.
Majimoto South
The property is located approximately 65km east from the eastern shore of Lake Victoria and Musoma City, in the Musoma District of northern Tanzania. The property can be accessed via tarmac roads from Mwanza (268km from the licence by road) to within 60km, after which a gravel road leads directly to the licence area. There is known gold mineralisation throughout the belt predominantly associated with quartz reefs, with a number of companies undertaking exploration in the region, including Kilimanjaro Mining and Barrick Gold Corporation. Mining in the areas includes the Buhemba Mine to the east and the North Mara mine, less than 30km to the northeast of the licence.
The licence is situated towards the eastern end of the Musoma Greenstone Belt, which extends for over 120km from the shores of Lake Victoria towards the east following an east-west strike which swings towards the northeast further to the east.