Lion One Ticked All the Boxes
InvestorSarfari Comments:
Securing a lease extension is another significant milestone for Lion One. It will allow for the next phase of development, to bring Tuvatu into production and to perhaps become Fiji’s next premier gold mining operation. Now there’s an 11-year runway that should be plenty long for takeoff.
The Fiji 'Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources administers land leases covering all of Fiji. The ministry tries to ensure an economic sustainable future of all state lands (including their famous Fiji water resources).
This is a fine balancing act when it comes to the resistance of local communities, the ever-increasing number of foreign companies requesting exploration/extraction and the much needed economic benefit to the island that mineral developments provide.
Trying to manage the relationship between these three - while not losing sight of sustainable economic development and environmental preservation goals - is difficult. It’s equally difficult for mining companies to make their case for digging.
For these reasons, companies have to pass a significant checklist of criteria. Lion One managed to do this successfully - ticking “all the boxes.”
The official company news release can be found here.
FIJI SUN JULY 16 - 17, 2022 by FREDERICA ELBOURNE SUVA
Lion One Ticked All the Boxes
THE CANADIAN COMPANY WAS ASSESSED ON VARIOUS FACTORS, GETS 11-YEAR LEASE EXTENSION
The Lion One Metals 11-year lease extension will propel the company to steam ahead in its efforts to further the development of their mine.
It followed months of negotiations and assessments between the two parties.
With market capitalization sitting at around FJ$376 million on Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture Exchange-listed company is scheduled to commence gold production by the last quarter of 2023.
The latest investment will help Lion One continue with its intensive exploration programme to build its mineral resource base, said Mineral Resources Department director, Raymond Mohammed.
The department arrived at an 11-year extension period, based on identified mineable mineral resources, the rate of annual mining, and the company’s ability to develop additional mining blocks, he said.
The company was assessed on various factors including the:
Geological confidence in the resource, resource base
Financial of the economics - the economics of the proposals
Environmental aspects - How they will manage the environmental risks that may be generated from the project
Landowner, community relationship – consultation with landowners.
“They have ticked all the boxes in terms of our very rigorous assessment process,” Mr Mohammed said. The company’s mining plan also had a bearing on the term of extension, he said.
Fiji’s mining history - as no two gold mines have operated at the same time in the country, nor have they been the sizes of Tuvatu and Vatukoula.
For every 10 grams of gold found in a tonne of milled ore, Lion One’s Tuvatu project has extracted as much as 87.5 per cent of the priced mineral, making the Sabeto site home to one of the highest gold grade mines in the world.
Last month, Lion One said it may have found its proverbial gold room, after a substantial discovery in new high-grade gold feeder mineralization.
The finding followed the successful discovery of a high-grade 500 zone at its Sabeto project site, two years ago.
The company is confident its findings will fall in the ranks of notable multi-million ounce gold deposits, such as Porgera in Papua New Guinea, and Vatukoula.
Company founder, president and chief executive officer, Wally Berukoff - a seasoned miner with over 50 years’ experience - said Fiji could have more mines in the next 20 years, if it listed on the world stock market.
Mr Berukoff - a Canadian legend and respected figure in the mineral resources sector - has owned or operated 20 mines in seven countries, with Vatukoula gold mines being one.
In 2015, Lion One received the nod of approval from the Government, to commence its mine operations. To date, the company has invested approximately $140 million in its Fiji project.
Feedback: frederica.elbourne@fijisun.com.fj