Gold mining in Tanzania and other East African sites is making headway with work in progress on prospecting and resource development at eight sites.

Impetus for the work is coming partly from a buoyant gold market. Gold prices ended the week the way it began, hitting a record price Friday in New York as equities retreated with news of a slowing economic recovery.

Gold set records Monday and Tuesday and added $12.70 to $1,628.90 per troy ounce Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Canada's Lake Victoria Mining Co., Inc. said its teams were busy on eight gold projects and further exploration in Tanzania.

"The company is continuing with its solid strategic approach in the development of its eight gold projects with the goal of discovering a commercially feasible gold resource in Tanzania," Lake Victoria Mining Co. said.

Tanzania is Africa's third largest gold producer, after South Africa and Ghana, and also has reserves of uranium, nickel and coal. Gold exports earned the East African country $1.076 billion in 2009, up from $932.4 million the previous year.

Lake Victoria Mining recently ended its joint ventures with Otterburn Ventures of Vancouver, British Columbia, affecting four of the gold mining exploration projects at Singida, Geita, Kalemela and North Mara. Lake Victoria Mining retains 100 percent of its rights to all four of the projects.

The partnership ended upon disappointing results received at Singida, one of the poorest regions in Tanzania, where gold prospecting has raised hopes of an economic turnaround.

Lake Victoria Mining said its expert research had determined there may be scope for small-scale commercial gold mining at Singida, currently the site of two drilling projects.

The end of the rainy season in northwestern Tanzania would allow the mine prospecting crews to resume exploration at the Uyowa gold project, which produced encouraging results in earlier research in 2003.

Other work is continuing at the Musoma Bunda project, at Suguti and Murangi.

Lake Victoria Mining Co. President and Chief Executive Officer David Kalenuik said: "We have eight gold projects in Tanzania. Although we have focused our primary attention on the Singida gold project over the past two years, all of our project areas are prospective for gold and we have been steadily advancing a number of these along behind the scenes."

Based on the results to date, he said, the company plans to soon decide what to do with Singida, where to go ahead with developing the mine despite its low gold yield or try a joint venture or sell it.

Elsewhere in the exploration area, he said, "we are very excited about the potential that each of them could result in over the next few months."

He said the company was "fully committed to discovering a major gold resource out of our portfolio."

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