Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO) has reached a significant milestone at its Tuvatu gold project in Fiji.
Initial mining of near-surface, high-grade gold bearing mineralization has commenced from a recently discovered mineralized lode. To date, strike driving along the new lode totals 14 cuts for an estimated 475t, much of which has already been added to the Company’s mining inventory stockpile.
The high-grade inventory stockpile will constitute the initial feed for the company’s custom-designed-for-purpose processing facility, currently under construction.
New Gold Lode
The new lode was discovered in late 2022, 75m into the new development decline, and was subsequently defined by underground mapping, chip-channel sampling, and diamond drilling.
Development along the strike has since been extended by 13m, by way of seven separate cuts, each cut representing approximately 30t of material. Vertical development of 9.0m as a 1.5 x 1.5m rise has been completed, as well as an additional seven cuts, for a total of approximately 475t of gold mineralized material, to date.
Tuvatu has implemented airleg mining, which allows for flexibility and optionality to deliver low-cost tonnage at minimum mining widths of 1.8m and a rate of advancement of 4.0m/day.
Several recent drillholes have intersected multiple high-grade intercepts. Systematic face sampling provides detailed information that compare favourably with previous drill results.
The material extracted from this drive represents the first modern extraction from the Tuvatu deposit, and as such represents a significant milestone for the company.
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, Australia, comprises 1,007,000t indicated at 8.50g/t Au (274,600oz. Au) and 1,325,000t inferred at 9.0g/t Au (384,000oz. Au) at a cut-off grade of 3.0g/t Au.
For further information please visit: https://liononemetals.com/
