Lion One: Tuvatu Gold Mine Construction Is 75% Complete
Lion One: Tuvatu Gold Mine Construction Is
75% Complete
North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2023) -
Lion One Metals Limited
(TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (ASX: LLO)
("Lion One" or the "Company")
is pleased to provide an
update on construction progress at its 100% owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji.
Highlights:
Mine construction is approximately 75% complete.
Earthworks and concrete works are substantially complete, structural steel is 70%
complete.
The project is fully funded and on track for delivery of first gold in Q4 CY 2023.
Figure 1. Tuvatu Gold Mine Under Construction.
See below for additional images.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/171562_bb6a2eed54d89a8e_001full.jpg
Mine construction is approximately 75% complete and remains on track for delivery of first gold in Q4
2023. Earthworks and concrete works are substantially complete, with over 3,500 m
3
of concrete poured
to date. Structural steel is 70% complete and is progressing rapidly. All the components required to
commission the processing plant are on site and a team of 350 contractors and employees are working
together to bring the project towards completion. Once complete, Lion One plans to operate the
processing plant at an initial production capacity of 300 tonnes per day for the first 18 months of
operations before increasing the capacity to 500 tonnes per day in mid-2025. Lion One is fully funded to
complete mine construction and bring the Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project into production by the end of the
year.
Videos of construction progress can be viewed on the company's website (
www.liononemetals.com
). A
summary of construction items that are in progress or complete is shown in Table 1 below.
Site Infrastructure
A large portion of the site infrastructure is complete, including the site office, the mine changeroom, the
mine workshop, the fresh water supply system, the sewage treatment plant and the waste rock crusher
and screener, all of which are commissioned and in use. The construction of the power plant, which
consists of six 800 KW generators and one 1,500 KW generator for a total 6.3 MW, is in progress.
Crushing and Conveying
The Lion One processing plant will treat material using a two-stage crushing process, with a primary jaw
crusher and a secondary cone crusher. A system of three conveyor belts will transport material between
the two crushers and on to the processing plant. The jaw crusher, cone crusher, conveyor belt 1 and
conveyor belt 2 are all in place while conveyor belt 3 has been fabricated and needs to be lifted into
place. Piping and electrical work remains to be completed. The ROM pad has also been constructed
and is in use, with minor upgrades remaining to be completed.
Grinding, Concentrating, Leaching and Recovery
Material from the crushing process will be fed to a two-stage grinding circuit, followed by an integrated
two-stage gravity concentration circuit. Some concentrates will then be treated by an intensive cyanide
leaching reactor and the remainder of the concentrates will be leached using conventional cyanide
Carbon in Leach (CIL) technology. Gold will be recovered from the gold laden carbon using conventional
absorption desorption recovery (ADR) technology and smelted on site to produce gold doré bars.
Construction is advancing rapidly on the grinding, concentrating, and leaching circuits, as well as on the
necessary supporting infrastructure such as warehouses and workshops. Ball Mills 1 and 2 are in place,
the leaching tanks are in place, and Reagent Warehouse 1 is nearing completion. All other components
of the processing plant are in progress at varying levels of completion. Electrical and piping work
remains to be completed.
Tailings Storage Facility (TSF)
Tailings from the processing plant will be treated using the SO2/air process to remove any residual
cyanide and will be filtered to produce filtered tailings which will then be transported to the TSF for
storage. Stage 1 of the TSF will consist of a dam with a finish level at 115 m elevation, and a pond with
enough capacity for 18 months of operation. The tailings dam has currently been built to an elevation of
107 m. TSF construction has been ongoing since June 2022 and the TSF is anticipated to be in
operation in Q4 of 2023. Other components of the TSF, such as diversion channels, dam spillway, and
liner installation are advancing simultaneously.
Underground Developments
Underground mining of the
URA1
,
URW1a
and
URW1b
lodes is ongoing. The main decline has
reached a vertical depth of 99.4 m below surface and a total length of 344 m from the mine portal. The
link drive connecting the main decline to the historical exploration decline has been completed and
measures 140 m from the junction with the main decline to the junction with the historical exploration
decline. The link decline was driven from the main decline to the exploration decline and broke through
the exploration decline on June 21
st
, 2023.
The completion of the link drive is a major milestone in the development of the mine as it enables the
Stage 1 primary ventilation system to be installed. The Stage 1 primary ventilation system consists of
four 55KW exhaust fans that are being installed at the entrance to the historical exploration decline, and
which will provide ventilation throughout the mine. The Stage 1 primary ventilation system will provide
sufficient ventilation to mine all the way down to the 500 zone, which is part of the high-grade feeder zone
underlying Tuvatu and which comprises a major component of the mine plan. The completion of the link
drive also enables mineralized lodes to be mined both from the historical exploration decline as well as
from the main decline, thereby increasing the number of faces available to mine and adding
considerable flexibility to the mining operations.
In addition to the link drive and ventilation system, a high voltage power plant and an underground
compressor are also being installed to support underground mining operations.
Table 1. Status of Major Mine Components Under Construction.
Processing Plant
Item
Construction/Installation Progress
ROM Pad
Nearing Completion
Jaw Crusher
Complete
Cone Crusher
Complete
Conveyor Belt 1
Nearing Completion
Conveyor Belt 2
Nearing Completion
Conveyor Belt 3
In Progress
Ball Mill 1
Complete
Ball Mill 2
Complete
Gravity Circuit
In Progress
Intensive Leaching Circuit
In Progress
Leaching Tanks
Nearing Completion
Filter Press System
In Progress
Reagent Warehouse 1
Nearing Completion
Reagent Warehouse 2
In Progress
Electrowinning and Carbon Regeneration
Workshop
In Progress
Gold Room
In Progress
Main Power Plant
In Progress
Supporting Infrastructure
Item
Construction/Installation Progress
Mine Changeroom
Complete
Mine Workshop
Complete
Site Office
Complete
Surface Magazine Storage
Complete
Mill Maintenance Workshop
Planning
Site CCTV and Fibre Optic Cable Installation
Nearing Completion
Fresh Water Supply System
Complete
Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)
Complete
Diesel Generator Power Plant Installation
In Progress
Waste Rock Crusher and Screener
In Production
Water Retention Pond
Complete
Coreshed Expansion
Complete
Tailings Storage Facility (TSF)
Item
Construction/Installation Progress
Tailings Dam (Stage 1)
In Progress
North Diversion Channel
Complete
South Diversion Channel
In Progress
TSF Basin Excavation
In Progress
TSF Dam Spillway
In Progress
HDPE Liner Installation
In Progress
Underground Developments/Upgrades
Item
Construction/Installation Progress
Link Drive Connecting Main and Exploration
Declines
Complete
HV Power Plant
In Progress
UG Compressor Installation
In Progress
Stage 1 Primary Ventilation
In Progress
Images
Figure 2. Oblique aerial view of mine site under construction, June 16, 2023.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/171562_bb6a2eed54d89a8e_002full.jpg
Figure 3. Aerial view of mine portal, ROM pad, and crushing plant, June 16, 2023.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/171562_bb6a2eed54d89a8e_003full.jpg
Figure 4. Aerial view of processing plant.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/171562_bb6a2eed54d89a8e_004full.jpg
Figure 5. Vertical aerial view of mine site under construction, June 16, 2023.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/171562_bb6a2eed54d89a8e_005full.jpg
Figure 6. Aerial view of TSF under construction, June 16, 2023.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/171562_bb6a2eed54d89a8e_006full.jpg
Figure 7. Location of link drive in relation to the main decline and the historical exploration
decline.
Mineralized lodes are shown in transparent grey. Connecting the main decline to the
exploration decline enables the Stage 1 primary ventilation system to be installed and enables mining of
the lodes accessed through the exploration decline.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/171562_bb6a2eed54d89a8e_007full.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"), Patrick Hickey, Chief Operating Officer, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has
reviewed and is responsible for the technical and scientific content of this news release.
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.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/171562