Lake Victoria Gold has formalized a Tanzanian-led engineering, procurement and construction management structure for its Imwelo Gold Project in northwestern Tanzania, after receiving Mining Commission approval for the appointment on June 29, 2026.

The company said its wholly owned Tanzanian subsidiary, Tembo Gold (T) Limited, has appointed City Engineering Company Ltd. as primary EPCM contractor, with Sutton Consulting International Limited serving as international technical-support partner. Tembo Gold holds Mining Licence ML 538/2015 over Imwelo, which Lake Victoria Gold describes as fully permitted.

The structure is designed around Tanzania's Mining (Local Content) Regulations, 2018. City Engineering Company is a 100% Tanzanian-owned engineering and environmental services company registered with the National Environment Management Council, Engineers Registration Board and Department of Water Resources. Under the arrangement, it leads project delivery and holds the primary contractual relationship as a qualifying Indigenous Tanzanian Company.

Sutton will provide specialist engineering review and technical support as a sub-consultant. Lake Victoria Gold said the arrangement includes a knowledge-transfer programme consistent with Regulation 26 of the local content rules, with Tanzanian nationals providing most project management, procurement and construction-supervision support.

The EPCM mandate brings together final detailed engineering, procurement planning, infrastructure design, mine planning support, construction preparation and project management. The company said workstreams already advancing include tailings and water infrastructure design, geotechnical and hydrogeological studies, process plant optimization, procurement support and construction quality assurance.

The announcement also links the project work to financing activity. Lake Victoria Gold said Imwelo advancement continues alongside a previously announced gold loan facility term sheet of up to approximately US$25 million with Monetary Metals & Co., which remains subject to conditions and required regulatory approvals.

The company separately said it closed the third and final tranche of a non-brokered private placement of unsecured convertible debentures, raising gross proceeds of $331,000 and bringing total proceeds across the three tranches to $4,165,200. The debentures carry 5% annual interest, mature after 36 months and are convertible into common shares at $0.30 per share.

For Tanzania's mining-services sector, the key signal is not just that Imwelo is moving toward construction preparation. It is that project delivery is being routed through a local-content structure that gives a Tanzanian engineering firm the commercial lead while retaining outside technical review.

The source also includes an important caution. Lake Victoria Gold says Imwelo has not completed a feasibility study establishing mineral reserves under NI 43-101 standards, and any production decision would carry higher economic and technical uncertainty.