Lake Victoria Gold optimizes processing for Imwelo project
Lake Victoria Gold has identified attrition scrubbing and desliming as the optimal pretreatment method for clay-rich ore at its Imwelo project in Tanzania. Laboratory tests on near-surface material from Area C show the technique boosts 24-hour gold extraction from roughly 50% to 84.5%, significantly improving plant efficiency.
The testwork, conducted by Mwanza-based Nesch Mintech, specifically targeted highly weathered mineralization expected to be processed early in the mine's life. Beyond increasing gold recovery, the pretreatment process reduced slurry settling times from 220 seconds to 130 seconds and enhanced bed compaction, addressing key handling challenges associated with the clay-heavy material. Bottle-roll testing further confirmed the potential of this route, yielding recovery rates of up to 88.15%.
These results bridge a critical gap in the company's metallurgical framework, aligning the treatment of near-surface weathered ore with previously established high-recovery protocols for deeper transitional and fresh mineralization. President and CEO Marc Cernovitch noted that the findings provide a clear engineering direction for the plant's front-end design as the project transitions toward construction. While the company holds a fully permitted status for the site, management cautions that no current feasibility study confirms mineral reserves, meaning development remains subject to ongoing technical and economic validation.
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