Placer opts out of Nyanzaga

Vancouver Placer Dome (PDG-T) has elected to drop the once promising Nyanzaga gold project in the Lake Victoria Goldfields of Tanzania.

The project first caught the eye of the major in 2002 when owner, Australian-listed Sub-Sahara Resources reported a drill intercept of 39 metres grading 2.53 grams gold at Nayanzaga Hill. A deal was subsequently signed, giving Placer the right to earn a 51% stake in the project by spending US$3 million.

The agreement covered 320 sq. km, including the Nyanzaga license, where Sub-Sahara’s reverse circulation drilling and trenching have identified a broad, open ended zone of gold mineralization, extending for approximately 400m in a north-north westerly direction and consisting of multiple gold bearing structures.

The major took over the project in February, and spent in the order of US$650,000 before deciding to drop the property. While no official reason was given for the termination, Sub-Sahara believes that the potential project size perceived from the limited drill results to date may not have met such expectation.

In March, junior Lakota Resources (YLA-V) laid claim as a landholder to be reckoned with in the area by completing a deal with Sub-Sahara another Australian junior, Spinifex Gold, to consolidate the Ikina Reefs project next door to Barrick Gold‘s (ABX-T) Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania. The price tag for the acquisition came in at 222,222 share for Sub-Sahara’s 25% stake and 400,000 shares for Spinifex’s 45% interest.

Lakota also owns 80% of the Tannor property to the north of Ikina and 100% of the Bermuda ground that adjoins the Ikina -Tannor boundary.