Lion One Metals samples high-grade gold at Tuvatu, Fiji
Lion One Metals Ltd. [LIO-TSXV; LLO-ASX; LOMLF-OTCQX] reported 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 gold over the first 35 metres of mining, while face sampling on the URW1b lode returned 9.60 g/t gold over the first 22.5 metres of mining. The URW1 lode system was originally modelled as a single lode with average grade of 14.05 g/t gold. 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).
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.”
Mining of the URW1 lodes has been ongoing since May 18, 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 metres. 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. 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.
Lion One’s flagship asset is the 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 an exploration upside inside its tenements covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, an underexplored yet highly prospective 7km diameter alkaline gold system.