North Vancouver, B.C., November 2, 2023 - Lion One Metals Limited (TSX-V: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (ASX: LLO) (“Lion One” or the “Company”) is pleased to report significant new high-grade gold results from ongoing infill and grade control drilling at its 100% owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji.
Assay results are presented here for infill and grade control drilling completed in the Zone 5 area of Tuvatu, which encompasses the near-surface portions of lodes UR1 to UR8, as well as URW2A and URW3. Grade control drilling is focused on the sections of lodes UR1, UR2, and URW3 that are scheduled for mining in early 2024, whereas infill drilling is focused on the parts of Zone 5 that are scheduled for mining in 2024 and 2025. Previous results from Zone 5 are available in the news releases dated June 14, 2023 and August 10, 2023.
Highlights of results (3.0 g/t cutoff):
- 90.76 g/t Au over 2.4 m (including 261.47 g/t Au over 0.6 m) (TUDDH-659, from 221.3 m depth)
- 18.56 g/t Au over 3.0 m (including 101.89 g/t Au over 0.3 m) (TGC-0081, from 92.1 m depth)
- 86.47 g/t Au over 0.6 m (TUDDH-672, from 141.1 m depth)
- 11.31 g/t Au over 3.9 m (including 65.29 g/t Au over 0.3 m) (TGC-0084, from 99.3 m depth)
- 46.78 g/t Au over 0.6 m (TUDDH-671, from 127.7 m depth)
- 38.75 g/t Au over 0.6 m (including 64.10 g/t Au over 0.3 m) (TGC-0107, from 136.2 m depth)
- 16.60 g/t Au over 1.2 m (including 24.37 g/t Au over 0.6 m) (TGC-0101, from 125.7 m depth)
- 31.56 g/t Au over 0.6 m (TUDDH-676, from 158.9 m depth)
- 51.76 g/t Au over 0.3 m (TUDDH-665, from 260.3 m depth)
Figure 1. Location of Zone 5 Infill and Grade Control Drillholes. Left image: Plan view of Tuvatu showing Zone 5 infill and grade control drillholes in relation to the mineralized lodes at Tuvatu. Drillholes are shown in black, mineralized lodes in pale grey, and underground developments in red. The yellow dashed square represents the area illustrated in the image on the right. Right image: Oblique view of Zone 5 infill and grade control drilling looking approximately northeast. Infill drilling was conducted from surface whereas grade control drilling was conducted from underground.
Table 1. Highlights of composited grade control and infill drill results in the Zone 5 area. Composites are calculated using a 3 g/t Au cutoff with maximum internal dilution intervals of 1 m at <3 g/t Au. For full results see Table 4 in the appendix.
Hole ID |
|
From |
To |
Interval (m) |
Au (g/t) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TUDDH-659 |
|
221.3 |
223.7 |
2.4 |
90.76 |
|
including |
221.3 |
222.5 |
1.2 |
176.28 |
|
which includes |
221.3 |
221.6 |
0.3 |
83.62 |
|
and |
221.6 |
222.2 |
0.6 |
261.47 |
|
and |
222.2 |
222.5 |
0.3 |
98.55 |
TGC-0081 |
|
92.1 |
95.1 |
3 |
18.56 |
|
including |
92.1 |
92.4 |
0.3 |
101.89 |
|
and |
92.4 |
92.7 |
0.3 |
35.02 |
TUDDH-672 |
|
141.1 |
141.7 |
0.6 |
86.47 |
TGC-0084 |
|
99.3 |
103.2 |
3.9 |
11.31 |
|
including |
99.6 |
99.9 |
0.3 |
28.93 |
|
and |
100.8 |
101.1 |
0.3 |
65.29 |
TUDDH-671 |
|
127.7 |
128.3 |
0.6 |
46.78 |
TGC-0107 |
|
136.2 |
136.8 |
0.6 |
38.75 |
|
including |
136.2 |
136.5 |
0.3 |
64.10 |
|
and |
136.5 |
136.8 |
0.3 |
13.40 |
TGC-0101 |
|
125.7 |
126.9 |
1.2 |
16.60 |
|
including |
125.7 |
126.3 |
0.6 |
24.37 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
158.9 |
159.5 |
0.6 |
31.56 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
252.2 |
253.1 |
0.9 |
18.59 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
243.2 |
245 |
1.8 |
9.05 |
|
including |
243.2 |
243.8 |
0.6 |
19.87 |
TUDDH-665 |
|
260.3 |
260.6 |
0.3 |
51.76 |
TUDDH-657 |
|
109.6 |
111.1 |
1.5 |
9.32 |
|
including |
109.6 |
109.9 |
0.3 |
35.89 |
|
and |
110.8 |
111.1 |
0.3 |
10.25 |
TUDDH-674 |
|
130.7 |
131.9 |
1.2 |
11.65 |
|
including |
130.7 |
131.3 |
0.6 |
20.18 |
Zone 5
The Zone 5 area of Tuvatu is located along the main decline and includes the principal north-south oriented lodes at Tuvatu (UR1, UR2, UR3), the principal northeast-southwest oriented lodes (UR4 to UR8), and several smaller lodes to the west of the main decline (URW2, URW2A, URW3). The lodes in Zone 5 are all steeply dipping structures. Zone 5 represents the upward extension of the Zone 500 feeder zone, where several lodes coalesce into a wide zone of very high-grade mineralization, such as 20.86 g/t Au over 75.9 m (TUG-141), 12.22 g/t Au over 54.90 m (TUDDH-601), and 17.52 g/t Au over 23.7 m (TUDDH-608). The Zone 5 lodes targeted in the current round of drilling are shown in Figure 2. The location of Zone 5 relative to Zone 500 is also shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Main Zone at Tuvatu. Left image: Plan view of Tuvatu identifying the lodes referenced in this report. Right image: Section view looking approximately northeast, showing the location of Zone 5 and Zone 500 relative to the lodes. Drillholes reported in this news release are shown in yellow for visibility.
A total of 10 grade control and 10 infill drillholes are included in this release. The grade control drill program was conducted from underground and targeted the UR1, UR2, and URW3 lodes. The program was designed to provide a detailed understanding of the mineralization and geometry of these lodes both above and below the current underground developments. The grade control drillholes reported in this news release were drilled on 20 m centers. This will be followed up by additional grade control drilling to increase drill density to 10 m centers in advance of mining. The area targeted by these grade control drillholes is outside the current PEA mine plan but is being brought into the mine plan for 2024 based on drilling results. This part of Zone 5 is currently scheduled for mining in early 2024.
The infill drill program was conducted from surface and was designed to target the portions of lodes UR1 to UR7 located between the surface and the current underground developments. The purpose of the infill drill program is to increase knowledge and grade continuity in this area, and to further de-risk this portion of the deposit, which is scheduled for mining in 2024 and 2025. High-grade intercepts from the current round of Zone 5 grade control drilling are shown in Figure 3, while high-grade intercepts from the current round of Zone 5 infill drilling are shown in Figure 4. Examples of Zone 5 mineralization are shown in Figure 5.
Figure 3. Location of High-Grade Gold Intercepts from Zone 5 Grade Control Drilling, 3.0 g/t cutoff. High-grade gold intervals from Zone 5 grade control drillholes reported in this news release. The grade control drilling targeted sections of the UR1, UR2, and URW3 lodes above and below current underground developments, shown in grey. Composite intervals with grades between 3 and 10 g/t gold are shown in orange, grades between 10 and 30 g/t gold are shown in red, and grades over 30 g/t gold are shown in purple. Select high-grade intervals are identified. View is looking north.
Figure 4. Location of High-Grade Gold Intercepts from Zone 5 Infill Drilling, 3.0 g/t cutoff. High-grade gold intervals from Zone 5 infill drillholes reported in this news release. Composite intervals with grades between 3 and 10 g/t gold are shown in orange, intervals with grades between 10 and 30 g/t gold are shown in red, and intervals over 30 g/t gold are shown in purple. Select high-grade intervals are identified. View is looking approximately NNE.
Figure 5. Example Mineralization from Zone 5 Infill and Grade Control Drilling. Top left: Monzonite-hosted silica-pyrite-sphalerite-galena veins (TGC-0096, 87.5 m). Top middle: Chalcedonic quartz veins with coarse pyrite cross-cutting potassically altered monzonite (TUDDH-658, 69.5 m). Top right: Breccia zone with coarse-grained honey sphalerite and pyrite (TUDDH-657, 109.7 m). Bottom left: Stockwork-style veining with diffuse alteration halos and pyrite, sphalerite, and galena. (TGC-0081, 92.3 m). Bottom middle: Stockwork-style silica-pyrite-sphalerite-galena veins within altered monzonite (TUDDH-668, 127.2 m). Bottom right: Close-up view of coarse-grained pyrite within a zone of stockwork-style silica-pyrite veining. Specks of visible gold are highlighted in the yellow circles, width of image is approximately 3.5 cm (TUDDH-672, 141.3 m). Core diameter is 4.76 cm in each photo.
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.sedarplus.ca.
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: info@liononemetals.com
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: Full Drill Results and Collar Information
Table 2. Composited results from grade control and infill drillholes in the Zone 5 area (grade >3.0 g/t Au)
Hole ID |
|
From |
To |
Interval (m) |
Au (g/t) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TGC-0081 |
|
92.1 |
95.1 |
3 |
18.56 |
|
including |
92.1 |
92.4 |
0.3 |
101.89 |
|
and |
92.4 |
92.7 |
0.3 |
35.02 |
TGC-0084 |
|
99.3 |
103.2 |
3.9 |
11.31 |
|
including |
99.6 |
99.9 |
0.3 |
28.93 |
|
and |
100.8 |
101.1 |
0.3 |
65.29 |
TGC-0086 |
|
82.3 |
84.1 |
1.8 |
3.98 |
TGC-0088 |
|
75.7 |
76.9 |
1.2 |
5.87 |
TGC-0093 |
|
99 |
99.9 |
0.9 |
4.65 |
TGC-0096 |
|
87.4 |
88 |
0.6 |
13.31 |
TGC-0098 |
|
104.8 |
105.1 |
0.3 |
5.19 |
TGC-0098 |
|
107.8 |
108.4 |
0.6 |
6.29 |
TGC-0098 |
|
111.4 |
111.7 |
0.3 |
6.18 |
TGC-0101 |
|
125.7 |
126.9 |
1.2 |
16.6 |
|
including |
125.7 |
126.3 |
0.6 |
24.37 |
TGC-0107 |
|
136.2 |
136.8 |
0.6 |
38.75 |
|
including |
136.2 |
136.5 |
0.3 |
64.1 |
|
and |
136.5 |
136.8 |
0.3 |
13.4 |
TGC-0107 |
|
138 |
139.2 |
3211.2 |
5.21 |
TUDDH-657 |
|
109.6 |
111.1 |
1.5 |
9.32 |
|
including |
109.6 |
109.9 |
0.3 |
35.89 |
|
and |
110.8 |
111.1 |
0.3 |
10.25 |
TUDDH-658 |
|
62.5 |
62.8 |
0.3 |
6.85 |
TUDDH-658 |
|
69.4 |
69.7 |
0.3 |
20.06 |
TUDDH-658 |
|
83.2 |
83.5 |
0.3 |
3.82 |
TUDDH-658 |
|
96.4 |
96.7 |
0.3 |
3.08 |
TUDDH-659 |
|
122.6 |
122.9 |
0.3 |
3.82 |
TUDDH-659 |
|
124.7 |
125 |
0.3 |
5.41 |
TUDDH-659 |
|
221.3 |
223.7 |
2.4 |
90.76 |
|
including |
221.3 |
222.5 |
1.2 |
176.28 |
|
which includes |
221.3 |
221.6 |
0.3 |
83.62 |
|
and |
221.6 |
222.2 |
0.6 |
261.47 |
|
and |
222.2 |
222.5 |
0.3 |
98.55 |
TUDDH-659 |
|
225.5 |
225.8 |
0.3 |
25.35 |
TUDDH-659 |
|
228.2 |
228.5 |
0.3 |
5.95 |
TUDDH-659 |
|
268.9 |
269.2 |
0.3 |
5.96 |
TUDDH-660 |
|
28.9 |
29.5 |
0.6 |
6.39 |
TUDDH-660 |
|
150.4 |
151 |
0.6 |
8.57 |
TUDDH-665 |
|
152.3 |
152.6 |
0.3 |
3.05 |
TUDDH-665 |
|
204.2 |
204.5 |
0.3 |
25.99 |
TUDDH-665 |
|
260.3 |
260.6 |
0.3 |
51.76 |
TUDDH-668 |
|
112.6 |
112.9 |
0.3 |
3.71 |
TUDDH-668 |
|
123.1 |
123.4 |
0.3 |
3.54 |
TUDDH-668 |
|
123.7 |
124 |
0.3 |
3.91 |
TUDDH-668 |
|
125.2 |
127.3 |
2.1 |
3.99 |
|
including |
126.7 |
127.3 |
0.6 |
10.25 |
TUDDH-668 |
|
138.1 |
138.4 |
0.3 |
5.28 |
TUDDH-671 |
|
127.7 |
128.3 |
0.6 |
46.78 |
TUDDH-671 |
|
143.6 |
144.2 |
0.6 |
6.83 |
TUDDH-671 |
|
242 |
242.3 |
0.3 |
6.53 |
TUDDH-672 |
|
141.1 |
141.7 |
0.6 |
86.47 |
TUDDH-672 |
|
149.5 |
149.8 |
0.3 |
4.15 |
TUDDH-674 |
|
130.7 |
131.9 |
1.2 |
11.65 |
|
including |
130.7 |
131.3 |
0.6 |
20.18 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
126.5 |
127.4 |
0.9 |
5.05 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
158.9 |
159.5 |
0.6 |
31.56 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
243.2 |
245 |
1.8 |
9.05 |
|
including |
243.2 |
243.8 |
0.6 |
19.87 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
252.2 |
253.1 |
0.9 |
18.59 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
254.6 |
254.9 |
0.3 |
3.33 |
TUDDH-676 |
|
256.1 |
257.6 |
1.5 |
6.02 |
|
including |
256.1 |
256.7 |
0.6 |
9.24 |
|
and |
257.3 |
257.6 |
0.3 |
10.46 |
Table 3. Collar coordinates for grade control and infill drillholes reported in this release. Coordinates are in Fiji map grid.
Hole ID |
Easting |
Northing |
Elevation |
Azimuth |
Dip |
Depth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TGC-0081 |
1876384 |
3920627 |
129 |
95.0 |
1.2 |
107.1 |
TGC-0084 |
1876384 |
3920626 |
128 |
94.2 |
-13.1 |
121.6 |
TGC-0086 |
1876383 |
3920626 |
130 |
105.6 |
20.2 |
126.6 |
TGC-0088 |
1876384 |
3920626 |
129 |
99.2 |
10.5 |
121.3 |
TGC-0093 |
1876383 |
3920627 |
129 |
72.1 |
11.4 |
121.0 |
TGC-0096 |
1876383 |
3920627 |
129 |
86.4 |
11.3 |
115.4 |
TGC-0098 |
1876384 |
3920627 |
127 |
88.3 |
-28.3 |
131.6 |
TGC-0101 |
1876383 |
3920627 |
127 |
89.1 |
-41.1 |
196.9 |
TGC-0106 |
1876384 |
3920626 |
127 |
96.3 |
-20.3 |
130.1 |
TGC-0107 |
1876383 |
3920628 |
127 |
60.4 |
-38.2 |
176.2 |
TUDDH-657 |
1876497 |
3920546 |
296 |
288.8 |
-60.1 |
161.6 |
TUDDH-658 |
1876496 |
3920546 |
296 |
299.6 |
-40.2 |
122.2 |
TUDDH-659 |
1876556 |
3920388 |
352 |
284.3 |
-63.0 |
270.0 |
TUDDH-660 |
1876477 |
3920295 |
402 |
328.2 |
-61.5 |
156.1 |
TUDDH-665 |
1876475 |
3920296 |
402 |
325.3 |
-59.5 |
293.0 |
TUDDH-668 |
1876496 |
3920546 |
296 |
283.0 |
-69.2 |
170.0 |
TUDDH-671 |
1876475 |
3920296 |
402 |
326.2 |
-56.3 |
270.3 |
TUDDH-672 |
1876496 |
3920546 |
296 |
273.6 |
-74.1 |
180.0 |
TUDDH-674 |
1876496 |
3920546 |
296 |
300.4 |
-70.6 |
170.0 |
TUDDH-676 |
1876476 |
3920296 |
402 |
332.7 |
-57.2 |
287.6 |