Lakota clears title on Tanzanian property

An agreement with its Australian partners has permitted Lakota Resources (YLA-V) to consolidate its ownership of the Ikina Reefs property in the Lake Victoria area of Tanzania.

The 25-sq.-km property is immediately northwest of the Bulyanhulu gold mine of Barrick Gold (ABX-T). It had been under split, and sometimes disputed, ownership until November 2002, when an agreement between Lakota and Australian companies Spinifex Gold and Sub-Sahara Resources settled the proportions of ownership.

That agreement paved the way for a purchase agreement between the companies, under which Spinifex traded its 45% interest for 400,000 shares in Lakota, and Sub-Sahara traded its 25% interest for 222,222 shares. A subsequent share split by Lakota doubled the number of shares issued to each company.

The agreement, which closed in mid-March, will allow Lakota to look for a joint-venture partner for the project or begin exploration on its own. In January 2003, the company placed 960,000 shares and an equal number of share purchase warrants, for proceeds of $1.3 million. The warrants can be exercised at $1.75 before Jan. 15, 2004, and at $1.95 for a year after that.

Lakota controls 64 sq. km adjoining Ikina on the north, and the consolidated land package covers the northwestern strike extension of Bulyanhulu. Bulyanhulu produced 356,319 oz. gold at a total cash cost of US$198 per oz. in 2002, and at the end of the year had reserves of 25 million tonnes grading 14.6 grams gold per tonne.

Ikina itself has several areas of craft mining, where local miners exploit quartz vein structures at shallow depths. So far, the property has seen some limited sampling but no systematic exploration.