Lion One Intensifies Roscoelite Focus and Enhances Fiji Gold Team with Addition of Two Ex-newmont Geologists
Lion One Intensifies Roscoelite Focus and
Enhances Fiji Gold Team with Addition of Two
Ex-newmont Geologists
North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 19, 2024) - Lion One Metals
Limited
(TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF)
("Lion One" or the "Company")
is pleased to report an
intensification of roscoelite-targeting efforts at Tuvatu and announces the return of Sergio Cattalani to Fiji
to lead the technical team in these efforts. The company is also pleased to announce the additions of
Ivan Maldonado and Alexander Valencia as the new Mine Geology Manager and Senior Mine Geologist
respectively at the Company's Tuvatu Gold Mine in Fiji.
Roscoelite Targeting
A new significantly mineralized structure has been exposed in the near-surface underground workings at
Tuvatu. This structure has consistently returned very high-grade gold since it was first identified in
September from underground face sampling. The structure is associated with abundant roscoelite, a
feature which is characteristic of several large alkaline gold deposits such as Porgera
1
, Cripple Creek
2
,
and Vatukoula
3
(see Figure 1 below). An initial underground bulk sample from this structure has returned
11.6 g/t gold from 861 tonnes of material fully diluted (
November 12, 2024
News Release).
Figure 1. Visible gold and roscoelite vein underground at Tuvatu.
Top: Abundant visible gold and
roscoelite from exposed vuggy quartz-roscoelite vein seen in-situ underground at Tuvatu. The gold
displays a "wire gold" textural habit indicating the rapid deposition of gold from hydrothermal fluids.
Bottom: Close-up image of visible gold in quartz-roscoelite vein. Tungsten-carbide scratcher used for
scale.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/230539_ecf2afc914a22932_001full.jpg
The new structure has been continuously mapped and mined for over 100 m in the E-W direction and
appears to extend further to the east of the current underground workings. While roscoelite-bearing
mineralized structures have been identified in drill core at Tuvatu, this is the first time that a significant
roscoelite-bearing lode array with high-grade gold has been identified and exposed continuously over a
significant distance underground.
Notably, this structure is striking E-W and dipping at approximately -20° to the north. This is an
orientation that has not previously been defined or predicted in the Tuvatu geological model, though it
has been identified in recent structural analysis.
Roscoelite-bearing structures represent an important target-type at Tuvatu as they are directly
associated with high-grade gold. Lion One management has therefore determined that a dedicated
effort be allocated to better characterize these lode types, with the goal being to define specific criteria
that can be used to identify additional structures with similar attributes at Tuvatu. The current
underground exposure of a high-grade roscoelite-bearing structure provides the Company with an
invaluable opportunity to carry out detailed sampling and analysis to better understand the mineralogy,
geochemistry, and orientation of these structures in situ. Sergio Cattalani has returned to Fiji to lead
these efforts on site.
Mr Cattalani has over 40 years of experience and as the former Senior Vice
President of Exploration for Lion One Metals from mid-2021 to the end of 2023, he is intimately familiar
with the deposit and is ideally suited to lead these efforts.
One of the Company's primary objectives is to develop a detailed understanding of the spatial
mineralogical and grade characteristics of the exposed roscoelite structure, and to document if/how the
structure and associated gold mineralization varies with proximity to cross-cutting structures of different
orientations. The conceptual model, strengthened by direct observations underground, suggests that
high-grade "blow-out" zones (or "shatter zones" as described at Vatukoula) are produced at the
intersection of multiple structures with different orientations, as has previously been observed in deposits
with similar alteration and grade characteristics to Tuvatu, such as the Porgera gold mine.
1
Mr. Cattalani
has been charged with investigating precisely how the gold grades, widths, and alteration type and
intensity vary along the exposed roscoelite-bearing structure with proximity to the cross-cutting,
predominantly steeply dipping, structures that are widely prevalent at Tuvatu. An increased
understanding of both the primary characteristics of these roscoelite-bearing structures, as well as their
structural interactions, will enable the company to efficiently interrogate and augment the extensive
database at Tuvatu to effectively target additional similar features throughout the deposit, and to thereby
enhance and expand the long-term mine plan at Tuvatu.
Strengthened Fiji Technical Team
Lion One Metals is pleased to welcome Mr Ivan Maldonado and Mr Alexander Valencia to the Lion One
technical team in Fiji. Both Mr Maldonado and Mr Valencia bring extensive technical experience to Lion
One, and both will be working with the production geology team at Tuvatu.
Ivan Maldonado, P.Geo. - Mine Geology Manager
Mr. Ivan Maldonado is a professional geoscientist with over 17 years' experience in mine production,
resource modeling, and brownfields exploration in Mexico and Canada. Mr Maldonado gained
significant experience with Red Lake Gold Mines at the Campbell mine & Cochenour mine where he
spent six years in positions such as Underground Production Geologist, Exploration Geologist and
Resource estimation Geologist, followed by six years at Newmont's Borden gold mine where he rose to
the rank of Senior Underground Production Geologist.
Mr. Maldonado's past experiences as a production geologist includes positions at Pan American
Silver's Dolores open pit mine, and Goldcorp's San Dimas underground gold-silver mine, both in
Mexico.
Alexander Valencia MSc. G.I.T. CAPM - Senior Mine Geologist
Mr. Alexander Valencia is a professional geoscientist with over 12 years' experience in the mining
industry, specializing in resource modeling and with expertise in the exploration of Porphyry Cu-Au,
Epithermal Au-Ag, VMS, Orogenic and Skarn deposits. Mr Valencia also has experience in open-pit
and underground mining production, ground control, and slope stability and gained significant
experience over the last four years as Underground Production Geologist at Newmont's Borden,
Porcupine, and Hoyle Pond gold mines in Ontario.
Mr. Valencia's prior experience includes one year as a Geological Technician at Glencore's Kidd Creek
Mine, and five years as a Geologist Engineer for ESCARTEC and Constructora Villacreces Andrade in
Quito, Ecuador.
The Company also announces that Mr. Alex Nichol has resigned from his role as Vice President,
Exploration and Geology, to pursue other opportunities. The Company thanks Mr. Nichol for his hard
work and significant contributions to Tuvatu and extends their best wishes to him on his future endeavors.
Lion One Chairman and CEO Walter Berukoff commented: "We are delighted to welcome Ivan and
Alexander to Fiji where their expertise will be invaluable to our team at the Tuvatu Gold Mine. I also wish
to thank Alex Nichol for his valuable contributions to the Company and wish him the best of luck in all his
future endeavours."
References:
1
.
Ronacher, E. (2002).
The Porgera gold deposit: Fluid characteristics, ore deposition processes,
and duration of the ore forming event.
[Doctoral Thesis, University of Alberta].
2
.
Kadel-Harder, I. K., Spry, P. G., McCombs, A. L., Zhang, H. (2020). Identifying pathfinder elements
for gold in bulk-rock geochemical data from the Cripple Creek Au-Te deposit: a statistical
approach.
Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
, v. 21.
3
.
Scherbath, N. L., & Spry, P. G. (2006). Mineralogical, Petrological, Stable Isotope, and Fluid
Inclusion Characteristics of the Tuvatu Gold-Silver Telluride Deposit, Fiji: Comparisons with the
Emperor Deposit.
Economic Geology
, v 101.
Competent Persons Statement
The information in this report that relates to mineral exploration at the Tuvatu Gold Project is based on
information compiled by the Lion One team and reviewed by Melvyn Levrel, who is the company's Senior
Geologist. Mr Levrel is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and has sufficient
experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration, and to
the activity being undertaken, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the
'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' (JORC
code). Mr Levrel consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on the information in the
form and context in which it appears.
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.
Diamond drill core samples are logged and split by Lion One personnel on site and 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 23 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 & CEO
Contact Information
Email:
Phone: 1-855-805-1250 (toll free North America)
Website:
www.liononemetals.com
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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
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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.
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