Lion One Drills 3.3 m of 99.13 g/t Gold from 136.4 m DH Depth, and 1.2 m of 218.31 g/t Gold from 109.0 m DH Depth at Tuvatu Gold Mine in Fiji
Lion One Drills 3.3 m of 99.13 g/t Gold from
136.4 m DH Depth, and 1.2 m of 218.31 g/t Gold
from 109.0 m DH Depth at Tuvatu Gold Mine in
Fiji
North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 17, 2025) -
Lion One Metals Limited
(TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) ("Lion One" or the "Company
") is pleased to report significant new
high-grade gold results from 4,040.90 meters of underground infill and grade control drilling at its 100%
owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji ("
Tuvatu
").
The drilling was focused on the Zone 5 part of the mine and primarily targeted the down dip extension of
the UR2 lode below levels 1084 and 1066, which are the lowest levels of the current mine development.
Drilling was conducted from one near surface underground drill station on the 1135 level. The Company
intersected high-grade mineralization in 17 out of 22 drillholes with two drill holes abandoned. Most of
the high-grade drill intersects are located within 20 m to 60 m below level 1084. Due to the proximity of
these drill results to existing workings, most of these drill intercepts are anticipated to be incorporated
into the mine plan in the next three to twelve months.
The deepest high-grade interval (16.09 g/t gold over 1.0 m, TGC-0503) was intersected approximately
125 m below level 1084. This represents approximately 6 additional levels of mining and indicates a
strong vertical continuity of the high-grade structures in this part of the deposit. The headline intercept of
99.13 g/t gold over 3.3 m includes two very high-grade sub-intervals of
459.05 g/t gold over 0.3 m and
338.00 g/t gold over 0.5 m
, and is located approximately 60 m below level 1084. Previous drilling in
this part of the deposit returned similar high grade results over narrow widths, such as
236.00 g/t gold
over 0.4 m
(see news release dated May 1, 2025).
Top New Drill Results
:
99.13 g/t Au over 3.3 m
(including 459.05 g/t Au over 0.3 m and 338.00 g/t over 0.5 m)
(TGC-0454, from 136.4 m depth)
218.31 g/t Au over 1.2 m
(including 366.00 g/t Au over 0.6 m) (TGC-0457, from 109 m depth)
24.86 g/t Au over 4.6 m
(including 56.29 g/t Au over 0.5 m) (TGC-0482, from 133.92 m depth)
*Drill intersects are downhole lengths, 3.0 g/t cutoff. True width not known. See Table 1 for additional data.
Figure 1. Location of the Zone 5 drilling reported in this news release.
Left image: Plan view of the
Zone 5 drilling in relation to the mineralized lodes shown in grey, with Tuvatu underground development
shown in red. Right image: Section view of the Zone 5 drilling looking West. The primary target for the
Zone 5 drilling is are the down-dip extension of the Zone 5 lodes below current underground workings in
the northern part of the deposit.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/278302_a6a499773408c9f5_001full.jpg
Zone 5 Drilling
The Zone 5 area of Tuvatu is located on the east side of the deposit and includes the principal north-
south and northeast-southwest oriented lodes. The drilling reported in this news release targeted the
near-surface portion of the UR2 lode down-dip of current underground developments. The UR2 lode is
one of the main north-south oriented lodes in Zone 5. It has a strike length of approximately 600 m and
dips steeply to the east. Mine development is currently taking place along the UR2 lode both at the top of
the mine, along levels 1150 and 1170, as well as at the bottom of the mine along levels 1084 and
1066/1068, which are the deepest levels in Zone 5. Level 1084 has over 300 m of development
completed along strike, while Level 1066/1068 is under development.
The drilling was conducted from one underground drill station, the 1135 drill station, and targeted a panel
of the UR2 lode approximately 125 m in strike length and 60 m in height, with a few drillholes targeting
deeper sections of the lode. 17 of the drillholes intersected high-grade intercepts, most of which were 20
m to 60 m below level 1084, including the headline intercepts of 3.3 m of 99.13 g/t gold and 1.2 m of
218.31 g/t gold. The deepest high-grade intercept returned in this drill program was 16.09 g/t gold over
1.0 m, which was intersected 125 m below level 1084. This represents an additional 6 levels of mining
and indicates strong vertical continuity the high-grade material. The two most northern drillholes of the
program, TGC-0493 and TGC-0495, did not intersect significant mineralization. Additional drilling is
warranted in this area.
The down-dip drill program returned numerous high-grade drill intersects over narrow widths, such as
459.05 g/t over 0.3 m, 366.00 g/t over 0.6 m, and 338.00 g/t over 0.5 m. These types of narrow
intersects are typical at the Tuvatu deposit as the mineralized structures tend to be quite narrow.
However, the structures also pinch and swell along strike and as a result there are some larger high-
grade intervals that were also returned, such as 4.6 m of 24.86 g/t gold. The drillholes reported here
were designed to intersect the mineralized lodes in a perpendicular to sub-perpendicular orientation
such that the mineralized intervals approximate the true width of the mineralization. Highlights of the Zone
5 UR2 down-dip drill program included in this release are shown in Figure 2. Most of the high-grade
intersects reported here are anticipated to be mined within the next 3 to 12 months.
Figure 2. Zone 5 down-dip drilling with high-grade intercepts highlighted, 3.0 g/t gold cutoff.
Left image: Plan view looking down with high-grade intercepts highlighted. Right image: Section view
looking West, showing the same high-grade intercepts. The drill holes shown here targeted the down-dip
extension of the UR2 lode below current mine development in the north part of Zone 5. High-grade
intercepts were returned up to 125 m below the 1084 level, with the headline intercept of 99.13 g/t gold
located 60 m below the 1084 level. Tuvatu underground development shown in pale grey.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/278302_a6a499773408c9f5_002full.jpg
Note on Composite Grades
The drill holes reported in this news release are oriented approximately perpendicular to mineralization.
The reported intercepts therefore approximate the true width of mineralization. The minimum mining
width at Tuvatu is approximately 1.5 m. In reporting drillhole intercepts Lion One uses a grade composite
cut-off of 3 g/t gold with <1 m internal dilution at <3 g/t gold. Drill hole intervals that are <3 g/t gold are
below cutoff and are not included in Table 2.
Competent Person's Statement
In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-
101"), Melvyn Levrel, MAIG, Senior Geologist for Lion One Metals, is the Qualified Person for the
Company and has reviewed and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release.
Lion One Laboratories / QAQC
Lion One adheres to rigorous QAQC procedures above and beyond basic regulatory guidelines in
conducting its drilling, sampling, testing, and analyses. The Company operates its own geochemical
assay laboratory and its own fleet of diamond drill rigs using PQ, HQ and NQ sized drill rods. The Lion
One geochemical laboratory is accredited under the IANZ ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Standard - the
international standard for testing and calibration of laboratories.
Diamond drill core samples are logged by Lion One personnel on site. Exploration diamond drill core is
split by Lion One personnel on site, with half core samples sent for analysis and the other half core
remaining on site. Grade control diamond drill core is whole core assayed. Core samples are delivered
to the Lion One Laboratory for preparation and analysis. All samples are pulverized at the Lion One lab
to 85% passing through 75 microns and gold analysis is carried out using fire assay with an AA finish.
Samples that return grades greater than 10.00 g/t Au are re-analyzed by gravimetric method, which is
considered more accurate for very high-grade samples.
Duplicates of 5% of samples with grades above 0.5 g/t Au are delivered to ALS Global Laboratories in
Australia for check assay determinations using the same methods (Au-AA26 and Au-GRA22 where
applicable). ALS also analyses 33 pathfinder elements by HF-HNO3-HClO4 acid digestion, HCl leach
and ICP-AES (method ME-ICP61). The Lion One lab can test a range of up to 71 elements through
Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), but currently focuses on a suite
of 29 important pathfinder elements with an aqua regia digest and ICP-OES finish.
About Lion One Metals Limited
Lion One Metals 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, 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,
Walter Berukoff, Chairman & President
Contact Information
Email:
Phone: 1-855-805-1250 (toll free North America)
Website:
www.liononemetals.com
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider accepts responsibility or 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. This forward-looking information reflects Lion One Metals
Limited's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Lion One Metals Limited
and on assumptions Lion One Metals Limited believes are reasonable. These assumptions include,
but are not limited to, the actual results of exploration projects being equivalent to or better than
estimated results in technical reports, assessment reports, and other geological reports or prior
exploration results. 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 Metals Limited 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:
the stage development of Lion One Metals Limited, general business, economic, competitive,
political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current research and development or
operational activities; competition; uncertainty as to patent applications and intellectual property
rights; product liability and lack of insurance; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals;
changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting mining, timing and availability of
external financing on acceptable terms; not realizing on the potential benefits of technology;
conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labor or loss of key individuals.
Although Lion One Metals Limited has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other
factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Accordingly, readers should
not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Lion One Metals Limited does not undertake
to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Appendix 1: Full Drill Results and Collar Information
Table 1.
Collar coordinates for drillholes reported in this release. Coordinates are in Fiji map grid.
Hole ID
Easting
Northing
Elevation
Azimuth
Dip
Depth
TGC-0428
1876383
3920627
127
65.7
-27.3
140.0
TGC-0435
1876383
3920627
127
65.3
-37.9
150.1
TGC-0454
1876383
3920627
127
65.4
-44.8
162.6
TGC-0457
1876384
3920627
127
79.8
-27.3
131.6
TGC-0458
1876383
3920627
127
74.5
-44.7
153.0
TGC-0459
1876383
3920627
127
74.4
-40.7
146.0
TGC-0460
1876384
3920627
127
74.4
-33.5
139.1
TGC-0462
1876384
3920626
127
87.0
-35.8
138.0
TGC-0463
1876383
3920626
127
86.8
-47.6
160.3
TGC-0465
1876383
3920626
127
96.0
-43.6
155.5
TGC-0467
1876384
3920626
127
94.9
-28.9
135.5
TGC-0468
1876384
3920625
127
106.2
-27.0
155.7
TGC-0469
1876383
3920625
127
106.1
-36.0
153.0
TGC-0470
1876383
3920625
126
123.1
-49.3
450.0
TGC-0482
1876383
3920628
128
45.1
-14.0
164.2
TGC-0487
1876383
3920628
127
44.6
-24.3
167.0
TGC-0490
1876383
3920628
127
50.0
-35.1
10.0
TGC-0491
1876383
3920628
127
49.9
-31.6
166.0
TGC-0493
1876383
3920629
128
33.1
-16.4
206.0
TGC-0495
1876382
3920629
127
29.6
-25.8
230.0
TGC-0502
1876383
3920625
127
113.1
-45.0
40.4
TGC-0503
1876383
3920626
127
89.2
-58.8
290.7
TGC-0509
1876383
3920628
127
47.3
-44.5
206.2
TGC-0514
1876383
3920628
127
52.6
-49.8
190.0
Table 2
. Composite intervals from drillholes reported in this news release (composite grade >3.0 g/t Au,
with <1 m internal dilution at <3.0 g/t Au). Intervals are colour coded based on grade.
Hole ID
From (m)
To (m)
Width (m)
Au (g/t)
TGC-0428
115.7
116.8
1.1
12.22
including
115.7
116.2
0.5
7.23
and
116.2
116.8
0.6
16.38
TGC-0435
126.2
127.3
1.1
23.27
including
126.2
126.8
0.6
22.08
and
126.8
127.3
0.4
24.98
TGC-0454
136.4
139.7
3.3
99.13
including
136.4
136.9
0.5
338.00
and
136.9
137.4
0.5
13.79
and
137.4
137.8
0.4
10.00
and
137.8
138.3
0.5
5.32
and
138.3
138.6
0.3
459.05
and
138.6
139.0
0.4
7.99
and
139.0
139.3
0.3
0.63
and
139.3
139.7
0.4
8.70
TGC-0457
101.7
102.0
0.3
4.99
109.0
110.2
1.2
218.31
including
109.0
109.6
0.6
366.00
and
109.6
110.2
0.6
55.07
TGC-0458
129.4
131.2
1.8
13.65
including
129.4
130.0
0.6
6.72
and
130.0
130.6
0.6
25.67
and
130.6
131.2
0.6
8.89
132.3
133.0
0.7
6.07
TGC-0459
119.9
120.8
0.9
4.55
including
119.9
120.5
0.6
4.54
and
120.5
120.8
0.3
4.58
124.5
125.9
1.4
7.06
including
124.5
125.0
0.5
13.47
and
125.0
125.9
0.9
3.50
TGC-0460
115.2
116.0
0.8
25.26
including
115.2
115.6
0.4
46.49
and
115.6
116.0
0.4
4.03
TGC-0462
114.7
115.4
0.7
14.79
including
114.7
115.0
0.3
3.99
and
115.0
115.4
0.4
22.89
TGC-0465
133.3
133.8
0.5
17.68
135.5
135.9
0.4
16.99
TGC-0468
120.1
121.5
1.4
14.42
including
120.1
120.6
0.5
16.47
and
120.6
121.0
0.4
12.34
and
121.0
121.5
0.5
14.02
TGC-0470
231.2
231.5
0.3
7.44
291.1
292.8
1.7
3.49
including
291.1
292.1
1.0
4.26
and
292.1
292.5
0.4
0.39
and
292.5
292.8
0.3
5.13
293.4
293.7
0.3
5.48
TGC-0482
131.0
131.7
0.7
3.93
133.9
138.5
4.6
24.86
including
133.9
134.4
0.5
56.29
and
134.4
134.9
0.5
20.76
and
134.9
135.3
0.4
0.10
and
135.3
135.6
0.3
34.99
and
135.6
136.4
0.7
29.52
and
136.4
136.7
0.3
10.00
and
136.7
137.3
0.7
16.34
and
137.3
138.0
0.7
31.00
and
138.0
138.5
0.5
18.80
TGC-0487
141.1
142.2
1.1
6.44
including
141.1
141.7
0.6
9.18
and
141.7
142.2
0.5
3.16
151.6
155.2
3.6
5.46
including
151.6
152.2
0.6
3.09
and
152.2
152.7
0.5
14.67
and
152.7
153.3
0.6
6.35
and
153.3
154.0
0.7
1.46
and
154.0
154.6
0.6
3.45
and
154.6
155.2
0.6
5.95
TGC-0491
138.7
139.7
1.0
5.52
including
138.7
139.0
0.3
5.18
and
139.0
139.7
0.7
5.66
TGC-0503
181.0
181.4
0.4
3.53
183.5
184.2
0.7
3.38
195.7
196.7
1.0
16.09
including
195.7
196.3
0.6
18.57
and
196.3
196.7
0.4
12.38
199.0
201.2
2.2
5.43
including
199.0
199.5
0.5
5.75
and
199.5
199.9
0.4
4.70
and
199.9
200.5
0.6
7.29
and
200.5
201.2
0.7
4.03
TGC-0509
154.9
155.2
0.3
4.89
TGC-0514
171.6
171.9
0.3
23.48
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