Operations: Tanzania

Exploration in Tanzania

The Lake Victoria goldfield in Tanzania is the fourth biggest gold producer in Africa, second only to South Africa, Ghana, and Mali. The goldfield is recognized as a world-class gold province and currently boasts over 40 million ounces in proven and probable reserves for the six mines in operation: Geita, Bulyanhulu, North Mara, Golden Pride, Buzwagi, and Tulawaka.

The Lake Victoria goldfield is underlain by greenstone belts, composed predominantly of volcanic and sedimentary rock interspersed with granitic intrusions, and extends from central Tanzania northward into Kenya and Uganda. The greenstone rocks are considered to be of Archean age. The exploration models applicable to Abitibi greenstone can be used in the Lake Victoria region.

In 2010, the company drilled 11,035 meters in Tanzania.  Almost all of the holes were drilled on the Ikungu property.

Due to the very encouraging results from the drill campaign, the Ikungu property has become a priority for the company.  Drilling in 2010 outlined the structure over a length of 2.6 km.  Drill hole IKD-45, which intersected 8.19 g / t Au over 15.32 m (true thickness), demonstrated the strong gold potential by proving the existence of very wide rich lenses.

At the same time, MDN also acquired ground near the Tulawaka mine, known as the Nikonga property.  Located 40 km southeast of the mine, Nikonga consists of two exploration licenses totaling 50.71 km².  As was the case for the Ikungu property in the beginning, this property has a gold structure that is exploited by artisanal miners.

2011, MDN going forward

Because the Ikungu property could provide greater value for MDN shareholders, most of the drilling will focus on this property with a program of 8,000 meters planned for 2011. The first part of the drilling campaign on Ikungu was completed in the first quarter. The objective was to test the east and west extensions of the main 2.6 km structure.  Positive results demonstrate the existence of this structure for 1 km to the west and drill hole IKBH-71 (13.43 g / t Au over 2.00 m) gave very promising results in the east. The Ikungu structure is now known to occur for a length of over 4 km.

The second part of the drilling program is underway. These holes are designed to test prospective areas and to reduce the spacing between mineralization blocks intersected in previous drilling campaigns.