Lion One Reports Robust Gold Grades from Tuvatu Mine in Fiji Face Sampling Returns 19.91 g/t Au over 35 m, Peak Value of 246 g/t Au
Lion One Reports Robust Gold Grades from
Tuvatu Mine in Fiji
Face Sampling Returns 19.91 g/t Au over 35 m, Peak Value of
246 g/t Au
North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2023) -
Lion One Metals Limited
(TSXV:
LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (ASX: LLO)
("Lion One" or the "Company")
is pleased to report successful
mining results and better than expected grades from underground developments at its 100% owned
Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji.
Face sampling on the URW1a lode returned 19.91 g/t Au over the first 35 m of mining, while face
sampling on the URW1b lode returned 9.60 g/t Au over the first 22.5 m of mining. The URW1 lode
system was originally modelled as a single lode with average grade of 14.05 g/t Au. The grade from the
URW1a lode is therefore stronger than anticipated while the grade from the URW1b lode represents
additional upside.
Highlights of Face Sampling Results:
43.49 g/t Au over 2.1 m
(including 61.67 g/t Au over 1.40m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_17)
34.33 g/t Au over 2.4 m
(including 56.56 g/t Au over 1.10m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_12)
37.00 g/t Au over 2.0 m
(including 56.01 g/t Au over 1.32m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_11)
31.62 g/t Au over 2.33 m
(including 50.88 g/t Au over 0.63m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_16)
34.61 g/t Au over 2.1 m
(including 52.81 g/t Au over 1.30m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_13)
31.52 g/t Au over 2.0 m
(including 246.79 g/t Au over 0.23m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_02)
31.90 g/t Au over 1.9 m
(including 60.23 g/t Au over 0.50m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_08)
25.61 g/t Au over 2.0 m
(including 66.4 g/t Au over 0.75m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_01)
17.32 g/t Au over 1.96 m
(including 25.42 g/t Au over 0.31m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-B_07)
16.09 g/t Au over 2.0 m
(including 35.20 g/t Au over 0.52m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-B_11)
12.41 g/t Au over 2.2 m
(including 30.50 g/t Au over 0.60m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-B_15)
15.77 g/t Au over 1.73 m
(including 48.51 g/t Au over 0.36m) (1140.URW1.NTH.OD-B_17)
Lion One Chairman and CEO Walter Berukoff commented: "We're very pleased with the results from our
face sampling program on the URW1a and URW1b lodes at Tuvatu. Face samples are collected directly
from the mining drive and as such they provide the most accurate representation of the grade of the
material that we're mining, and the results to date are much greater than expected. These results provide
the first comprehensive view of the grade distribution within these lodes. Tuvatu has once again
outperformed and as underground developments progress we're beginning to see the true potential of
the system."
Face Sampling
Table 1
. Highlights of Face Sampling from the URW1a and URW1b lodes
Face ID
From
To
Interval (m)
Au (g/t)
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_02
0.67
1.35
0.68
88.58
including
0.67
0.90
0.23
246.79
and
0.90
1.35
0.45
7.71
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_01
0.00
0.75
0.75
66.40
including
0.00
0.56
0.56
51.20
and
0.56
0.75
0.19
111.20
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_17
0.70
2.10
1.40
61.67
including
0.70
1.35
0.65
33.47
and
1.35
2.10
0.75
86.11
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_11
0.68
2.00
1.32
56.01
including
0.68
1.20
0.52
75.53
and
1.20
1.70
0.50
36.21
and
1.70
2.00
0.30
55.19
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_13
0.80
2.10
1.30
52.81
including
0.80
1.60
0.80
45.19
and
1.60
2.10
0.50
65.01
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_12
1.30
2.40
1.10
56.56
including
1.30
1.90
0.60
64.92
and
1.90
2.40
0.50
46.52
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_16
0.76
1.93
1.17
37.21
including
0.76
1.39
0.63
50.88
and
1.39
1.86
0.47
13.08
and
1.86
1.93
0.07
76.15
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_08
1.10
1.90
0.80
37.07
including
1.10
1.50
0.40
43.56
and
1.50
1.90
0.40
30.57
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-B_11
0.00
1.00
1.00
27.87
including
0.00
0.48
0.48
19.94
and
0.48
0.87
0.39
23.62
0.87
1.00
0.13
69.93
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-B_07
0.00
0.76
0.76
25.59
including
0.00
0.45
0.45
25.70
and
0.45
0.76
0.31
25.42
Figure 1. Location of the URW1a and URW1b lodes in relation to the Tuvatu system.
Mining is
progressing north along both the URW1a lode (modelled in purple) and the URW1b lode (modelled in
green). Inset image shows the location of the URW1a and URW1b lodes in relation to the Tuvatu system,
with all other lodes shown in pale grey. Underground developments are shown in red. The dashed black
square is the area highlighted in Figure 2.
The URW1 mineralized trend has a N-S strike length of
approximately 300 m and a vertical extent also of approximately 300 m.
The URW1a and URW1b lodes
occupy approximately 75m of this mineralized strike length. Extensional drilling is ongoing.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/173370_9cc80cc694a50a8e_001full.jpg
Figure 2. Plan map showing the location and face grades returned from face sampling in
URW1a and URW1b.
The URW1a mining drive is on the left and the URW1b mining drive is on the
right. Face grades in g/t Au and their corresponding sample numbers are shown in white. The locations
of the face samples are indicated by the sub-horizontal lines. Grid lines are 10 m apart. Mining is
ongoing and progressing to the north.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/173370_figure2.jpg
Mining of the URW1 lodes has been ongoing since
May 18th, 2023
, and is being conducted through the
use of airleg mining. Mining is progressing in a step-wise fashion with the mining drives advancing in
increments of 2 m. Prior to blasting, a face sample is collected across the face of the advancing drive,
with the sample being oriented approximately perpendicular to the strike of the mineralized lode (Figure
3). These samples lines are typically around 2 m in length and traverse the entire width of the drive such
that they represent all the material mined and not just the main lode. The face samples are therefore
considered representative of the grade at the face of the advancing drive and provide an indication of
the grade of the material extracted with each blast. The series of face samples collected progressively
along the strike of the lode provide an estimate of the grade of the material mined from the lode to date.
Due to the nature of mineralization at Tuvatu there is local variation in gold grades, and the more
extensive the systematic sampling is the more accurate the depiction of the overall grade and gold
content of each lode will be. For a description of the geology and mineralization of the URW1 lodes, see
the Lion One news release dated
April 25th, 2023
.
Figure 3. Face sampling methodology, URW1a.
Photo of the face and sample grades for the
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_12 face of the URW1a lode. Samples are marked with red paint with red
numbers indicating sample interval boundaries in meters. Gold grades are indicated in white. The main
lode is visible on the right side of the face and is highlighted by the yellow dashed lines. In this case the
lode is trending towards the east (to the right side of the photo), and the miners will start mining in that
direction with the next blast, as is seen in Figure 2 above at sample 1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_12.
Sample bags are visible towards the bottom of the image, with 4 samples taken across the face and an
additional duplicate sample taken at the location of the main lode.
Bag numbers are visible in the face
photos as a QAQC measure. Samples are collected by chipping material off the face rock equally along
the length of the sample line.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/173370_9cc80cc694a50a8e_057full.jpg
Figure 4. Examples of visible gold identified during sampling.
Scratcher pen used for scale in top
two images. Width of sampled in bottom image is 4.5 cm.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/173370_9cc80cc694a50a8e_058full.jpg
About Tuvatu
The Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project is located on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. The January 2018 mineral
resource for Tuvatu as disclosed in the technical report "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic
Assessment for the Tuvatu Gold Project, Republic of Fiji", dated September 25, 2020, and prepared by
Mining Associates Pty Ltd of Brisbane Qld, comprises 1,007,000 tonnes indicated at 8.50 g/t Au
(274,600 oz. Au) and 1,325,000 tonnes inferred at 9.0 g/t Au (384,000 oz. Au) at a cut-off grade of 3.0
g/t Au.
The technical report is available on the Lion One website at
www.liononemetals.com
and on the
SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com
.
Qualified Person
In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-
101"), Sergio Cattalani, P.Geo, Senior Vice President Exploration, is the Qualified Person for the
Company and has reviewed and is responsible for the technical and scientific content of this news
release.
QAQC Procedures
Lion One adheres to rigorous QAQC procedures above and beyond basic regulatory guidelines in
conducting its sampling, drilling, testing, and analyses. The Company utilizes its own fleet of diamond
drill rigs, using PQ, HQ and NQ sized drill core rods. Drill core is logged and split by Lion One personnel
on site. Samples are delivered to and analyzed at the Company's geochemical and metallurgical
laboratory in Fiji. Duplicates of all samples with grades above 0.5 g/t Au are both re-assayed at Lion
One's lab and delivered to ALS Global Laboratories in Australia (ALS) for check assay determinations.
All samples for all high-grade intercepts are sent to ALS for check assays. All samples are pulverized to
85% passing through 75 microns. Gold analysis is carried out using fire assay with an AA finish.
Samples that have returned grades greater than 10.00 g/t Au are then re-analyzed by gravimetric
method. For samples that return greater than 0.50 g/t Au, repeat fire assay runs are carried out and
repeated until a result is obtained that is within 10% of the original fire assay run. Lion One's laboratory
can also assay for a range of 71 other elements through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission
Spectrometry (ICP-OES), but currently focuses on a suite of 9 important pathfinder elements. All
duplicate anomalous samples are sent to ALS labs in Townsville QLD and are analyzed by 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).
About Lion One Metals Limited
Lion One's flagship asset is 100% owned, fully permitted high grade Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project,
located on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. Lion One envisions a low-cost high-grade underground gold
mining operation at Tuvatu coupled with exciting exploration upside inside its tenements covering the
entire Navilawa Caldera, an underexplored yet highly prospective 7km diameter alkaline gold system.
Lion One's CEO Walter Berukoff leads an experienced team of explorers and mine builders and has
owned or operated over 20 mines in 7 countries. As the founder and former CEO of Miramar Mines,
Northern Orion, and La Mancha Resources, Walter is credited with building over $3 billion of value for
shareholders.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of
Lion One Metals Limited
"
Walter Berukoff
", Chairman and CEO
Contact Investor Relations
Toll Free (North America) Tel: 1-855-805-1250
Email:
Website:
www.liononemetals.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange 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. 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 labour 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: Complete Face Sample Results and Location Information
Table 2
. Face Grade and Sample results from the URW1a lode (face grade >0.5 g/t Au)
Face ID
Face Sample Information
Total Sample
Length (m)
Face Grade (Au
g/t)
From
To
Interval (m)
Au (g/t)
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_01
0
0.56
0.56
51.20
2.00
25.61
0.56
0.75
0.19
111.20
0.75
1.20
0.45
2.69
1.20
2.00
0.80
0.25
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_02
0
0.67
0.67
2.96
2.00
31.52
0.67
0.90
0.23
246.79
0.90
1.35
0.45
7.71
1.35
2.00
0.65
1.27
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_03
0
0.50
0.50
9.24
2.00
12.12
0.50
0.86
0.36
6.52
0.86
0.90
0.04
26.12
0.90
1.36
0.46
1.45
1.36
2.00
0.64
24.30
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_04
0
0.51
0.51
2.81
1.70
6.54
0.51
0.71
0.20
14.37
0.71
1.22
0.51
7.88
1.22
1.70
0.48
5.83
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_06
0
0.47
0.47
3.67
2.00
5.86
0.47
0.60
0.13
3.86
0.60
1.00
0.40
0.06
1.00
1.31
0.31
0.05
1.31
2.00
0.69
13.69
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_07
0
0.70
0.70
34.75
2.20
12.01
0.70
0.96
0.26
4.46
0.96
1.55
0.59
0.20
1.55
2.20
0.65
1.27
1140.URW1.NTH.OD-A_08
0
0.50
0.50
60.23
1.90
31.90
0.50
1.10
0.60
1.41
1.10
1.50
0.40
43.56
1.50
1.90
0.40
30.57
0
0.55
0.55
0.80