The following content is sponsored by Tembo Gold
The History of the Lake Victoria Goldfield
One of the most important mining sites in Africa, Tanzania’s Lake Victoria Goldfield holds several multi-million-ounce gold deposits and has ongoing operations by some of the largest gold companies in the world.
In this infographic from our sponsor Tembo Gold, we dive into the history of the site, examining its significance and gold production to date.
The Significance of the Lake Victoria Goldfield
Despite Southern and Western African countries mining gold for centuries, the gold reserves in East African countries, specifically those of Lake Victoria, have been relatively untapped in nature until recently.
According to Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Tanzania has proven reserves of over 44 million ounces of gold, with many discoveries around the Lake Victoria Goldfield turning into multi-million-ounce deposits.
Bolstered by gold-rich greenstone belts, a rich history and growing infrastructure, the Lake Victoria Goldfield is a strategic and significant location for mining.
Over 100 Years of Gold Exploration
Before Resolute Mining’s Golden Pride mine opened in 1999, Lake Victoria Goldfield had a few relatively dormant decades. Gold exploration in the area, however, has been underway for more than 100 years.
The first ever commercial mine in East Africa started production in 1909, following Germany’s establishment of the German East Africa colony in 1891. By 1937, three gold mines dominated gold production in Lake Victoria. Within four years, the region’s annual production of gold reached more than 150,000 ounces.
However, things changed for Lake Victoria’s mining industry when Tanzania gained independence from Germany in 1961. Under the new government, agriculture was seen as the preferred approach for economic growth, and slowly but surely, all commercial gold mining in the country came to a halt.
The Tanzanian government did not revisit policies that favored mining and foreign investment again until 1998. Within one year of the new Mining Act, Golden Pride started mining in the Lake Victoria Goldfield, and several more followed. From approximately 10,000 ounces of gold in 1997, gold production flew to 1.68 million ounces by 2005.
Now, in 2023, Lake Victoria has significant infrastructure with a 25-year history of post-colonial mine development predated by over 100 years of gold exploration.
Lake Victoria Goldfield’s Legacy
As physical gold continues to play an integral part in asset management and investor interests rise in the face of inflation, gold exploration and production is as important and valuable as ever.
With a growing establishment of mines from world-class gold companies and exceptional preliminary drilling results in many projects– including in Tembo Gold’s 32 km2 project area–Lake Victoria Goldfield’s legacy is only beginning.
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