Lion One Appoints Ian Berzins as President, CEO and Director
Lion One Appoints Ian Berzins as President,
CEO and Director
North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 16, 2026) -
Lion One Metals Limited
(TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (
"Lion One" or the "Company"
) is pleased to announce the
reappointment of Ian Berzins as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company, effective
immediately. In addition to his executive leadership role, Mr. Berzins has been appointed to the
Company's Board of Directors.
Mr. Berzins previously served as CEO of the Company from January 2025 to late December 2025 and
delivered the most productive period of the Company's history from July to December 2025. Under Mr.
Berzins' leadership, mining operations steadily improved throughout 2025 with
capital development
rates more than doubling from 315 m in Q1 2025 to 643 m in Q4 2025
. Production rates also
increased substantially throughout 2025 culminating in the
record gold production achieved in Q4
2025, during which time 4,383 oz of gold was produced at a head-grade of 5.4 g/t gold
. The
reappointment of Mr. Berzins as CEO of the Company is part of a strategic move to restore strong
operations at Tuvatu and to drive gold production back up to the historic highs achieved in the second
half of 2025.
Focus on Production
With Mr. Berzins returning as President & CEO of Lion One, the Company is refocusing its efforts on
operational optimization and production turnaround following the weak production rates observed from
January to March 2026. The immediate priority for the Company is to reclaim and exceed the record-
setting gold production achieved in the latter half of 2025. Mr. Berzins has a deep familiarity with the
Tuvatu mine, its workforce, and the local regulatory environment in Fiji, thereby ensuring a seamless
transition and rapid recovery of operational performance at Tuvatu.
Todd Romaine, Chairman of Lion One, stated: "On behalf of the Board of Directors I would like to
welcome Mr. Ian Berzins back as the President & CEO of Lion One Metals. Ian is intimately familiar with
the Tuvatu operations, has a proven history of increasing gold production at the mine, and has a wealth
of technical knowledge and expertise on narrow vein gold mining in Fiji and around the world. We're
excited to have Ian back and we look forward to the months ahead as we return to and exceed the level
of production achieved at the end of 2025."
About Ian Berzins
Mr. Berzins is a veteran mining executive with over 35 years of experience in the surface and
underground mining of gold, oil sands, copper, and coal. He holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from
Queen's University and has earned his ICD.D certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Throughout his career, Mr. Berzins has successfully led operations, mine engineering, and finance
initiatives for several deep underground narrow-vein gold mines across Canada. His past leadership
roles include executive positions at the Con Mine (Northwest Territories), Lupin Mine (Nunavut), Rice
Lake Mine (Manitoba), and Mount Milligan (British Columbia). He has a proven track record of managing
complex operations in remote environments, implementing strict safety cultures, and successfully raising
capital in challenging financial markets.
About Lion One Metals Limited
Lion One is an emerging Canadian gold producer headquartered in North Vancouver BC, with new
operations established in late 2023 at its 100% owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji. The Tuvatu
project comprises the high-grade Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Deposit, the Underground Gold Mine, the Pilot
Plant, Tailings Storage Facility, and the Assay Lab. The Company also has an extensive exploration
license covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, which is host to multiple mineralized zones and highly
prospective exploration targets.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Todd Romaine
, Chairman
Contact Information
Email:
Phone: 1-855-805-1250 (toll free North America)
Website:
www.liononemetals.com
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Service Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
This press release may contain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. Generally, forward-
looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans",
"expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words
and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may,
could, would, or might occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this release include all
information regarding the Offering and the Private Placement, the expected lead subscriber of the
Offering, the anticipated use of proceeds of the Offering and the Private Placement and the proposed
closing date of the Offering and Private Placement. Although management of the Company believes
that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are
based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and
information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct.
This forward-looking information reflects Lion One's current beliefs and is based on information
currently available to Lion One and on assumptions Lion One believes are reasonable. These
assumptions include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; that
the Company will be able to complete the Offering and Private Placement on terms substantially
similar to those described; that the Company will receive approval for the Offering from Nebari as well
as other regulatory approvals required to complete the Offering and the Private Placement; the
conditions of the financial markets; the ability of the Company to satisfy the covenants set out in the
Facility and the Company's forbearance agreement with Nebari; and with respect to the use of
proceeds, the sufficiency of the proceeds.
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of Lion One or its
subsidiaries to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: that the Company is in
default of its obligations under the Facility and may be subject to enforcement actions from Nebari;
general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of
current research and development or operational activities; changes in legislation, including
environmental legislation, affecting mining, timing and availability of external financing on acceptable
terms; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; fluctuating commodity prices;
and competition, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available at
www.sedarplus.ca
. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking
statements and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing
list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news
release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any
forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or
information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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