Lion One Announces New High-Grade, Near-Surface Gold in Drill Results from Phase 2 Infill Program at Tuvatu, Fiji
InvestorSarfari Comments:
More results that are positive and show continuation of gold bearing veins throughout the caldera. Seems like every time the drills go down they bring back up mineralization. Markets and the world in general are not helping and the risk off attitude is apparent in the market place. . We have seen this cycle many times over the last 40 years and with that we bring up this famous quote that Warren Buffett once said that it is wise for investors to be “fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” Well, It’s time to be greedy…..
North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 8, 2022) - Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (ASX: LLO) ("Lion One" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results from 20 additional drill holes, as part of ongoing infill drilling at its high-grade, fully permitted Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji.
Drill results for 20 holes totalling approximately 3,900m of diamond drilling in Zone 5 cover a portion of the Tuvatu gold project, part of the Navilawa volcanic caldera which is host to numerous gold occurrences. outcropping mineralization, as well as the high-grade Tuvatu Alkaline gold deposit.
The drill program represents a significant improvement to the extent of known mineralization; additions are highlighted in blue in Table 1. The main orebody (Figure 1), is scheduled to enter production in Q2 of 2023. Its dimensions and continuity are further defined and expanded with the infill program which adds to the 11 earlier holes in Zone 5 (Lion One news release: May 31, 2022). The additional data outlines high-grade to bonanza-grade mineralized lode swarms <100m from surface. Vein-hosted mineralization remains open along strike and at depth. Lion One is upgrading its resource model which is expected to be significantly improved by this round of drill results. The mineralization reported here is a significant development which is expected to upgrade the resource model, as it represents a critical addition of gold mineralisation to the resources model that grades well above the average resource grade, at relatively shallow levels. As a result, the newly identified mineralization will enhance the economic model, likely upgrading the production stream at Tuvatu.
Top Intercepts include:
20.59 g/t Au over 3.9m from 98.4-102.3m, including 52.89 g/t Au over 1.5m, including 171.5 g/t Au over 0.3m, and 79.18 g/t Au over 0.3m from TUG-144
12.22 g/t Au over 3.3m from 54.9-58.2m, including 32.08 g/t Au over 0.6m, 24.08 g/t Au over 0.6m from TUG-143
56.90 g/t Au over 1.8m from 144.6-146.4m, including 163.19 g/t Au over 0.6m from TUDDH-604
35.98 g/t Au over 1.8m from 53.0-54.8m, including 194.00 g/t Au over 0.3m from TUDDH-609
9.13 g/t Au over 3.3m from 60.3-63.6m, including 44.85 g/t Au over 0.6m from TUG-146, as well as 8.15 g/t Au over 5.1m from 97.5-102.6m, including 19.70 g/t Au over 1.8m from 99.3-101.7 including 13.28 g/t Au over 0.6, 11.73 g/t Au over 0.6m, and 34.08 g/t Au over 0.6m also from TUG-146
9.33 g/t Au over 1.5m from 10.5-12.0m, including 37.42 g/t Au over 0.3m from TUG-144
7.14 g/t Au over 3.0m from 107.5-110.5m, including 28.56 g/t Au over 0.3m, 10.54 g/t Au over 0.3m, and 28.74 g/t Au over 0.3m from TUDDH-591
6.80 g/t Au over 4.2m from 92.1-96.3m including 10.39 g/t Au over 0.3m, 24.57 g/t Au over 0.6m, and 9.62 g/t Au over 0.6m from TUDDH-596
17.85 g/t Au over 0.6m from 127.9-128.5m including 26.79 g/t Au over 0.3m, 5.52 g/t Au over 2.7m from 161.8-164.5m incl. 36.81 g/t Au over 0.3m from TUDDH-605
Results are summarized below in Table 1, with vertical sections including all of the newly reported drill holes presented as Figures 2-8. Highlighted in blue on Table 1 are drill intercepts outside of the mineralized lodes that define the existing resource model. Each additional intercept will likely add width, grade, and continuity to the resource in the near-surface portion of the Tuvatu orebody.
Lion One Drilling Programs in Progress
Lion One reports that in addition to its Zone 5 infill drilling it is progressing with deep extensional drilling on the 500 Zone, where TUDDH-608, targeting the high-grade intersection of TUG-141 and TUDD-601, has been terminated at a depth of 678.1m. Visible veining and sulphide mineralization has been recorded from approximately ~530m to 645m depth along the drill hole. Assay results for TUDDH-608 have been commissioned from the Lion One Lab with preliminary results expected soon. Drilling on TUG-147 from the underground decline, targeting the same dilational zone further to the north and deeper has also commenced this week.
The Company has also mobilized a drill rig 2km northeast of Tuvatu to test the Batiri Creek occurrence, the new regional discovery in the Navilawa Caldera (see news release dated August 29, 2022), and underground development continues toward the near-surface Zone 2 of the Tuvatu resource with the No. 2 decline having advanced >80m. Finally, results from a separate batch of 6 PQ diameter diamond drill holes aimed at collecting a 300 kg composite sample for metallurgical testing of Zone 2 mineralization have also been received and compiled. The company will continue to provide further progress updates and results on these activities.
Lion One CEO, Walter Berukoff, stated, "We are confident that the high-grade intercepts indicated by our infill programs and the increased drilling density will lead to a more robust resource model. The high-grade near-surface infill results, along with the continuing success of the deep-drilling program, underscores the potential of Tuvatu to be a multi-million-ounce, high-grade Au producer. Lion One is well positioned to continue advancing all three tiers of our exploration strategy: ongoing, near-surface infill drilling; extensions of deep, high-grade feeder targets, and from our pipeline of regional targets in the surrounding Navilawa caldera."
Infill Drilling Program
Two phases of infill drilling have been planned at Tuvatu with the aim of infilling areas within the current resource and thus augmenting the data density, to further improve the resolution of the geological model in portions of the deposit scheduled for earliest production. Phase 1 infill drilling was completed over Zone 2 (Figure 1) in mid-February 2022, adding over 8,400m of new data from drill core, including 7,475m of new drilling and 955m of sampling of previously unsampled historic drill core (see Feb. 23, 2022 News Release).
This release presents final assay data from 20 previously unreported drill holes completed as part of the Phase 2 infill program, which is planned for approximately 8,200m of diamond drilling from surface and underground, and which is aimed at upgrading the resource database in Zone 5 of the Tuvatu orebody. The Phase 2 program as planned includes 30 holes totalling 5,475m carried out from 4 separate drill stations at surface, and 35 holes totalling 2,695m carried out from 6 underground drill stations. Phase 2 infill drill program began February 17, 2022, with drill hole TUDDH-577, and is expected to require 8-9 months of drilling using three rigs (two from surface and one from underground) to complete.
Results from the initial approximately 6,200m of drilling in Zone 5, represent approximately 75% of the planned program total, indicating and indeed confirming consistent high-grade to locally bonanza-grade Au mineralization for known mineralized lodes in this portion of the current resource, as well as new high-grade mineralization that was not identified prior to this drill program (Table 1, highlighted), and therefore not included in the current resource model.
Numerous high-grade mineralized intervals occur outside of existing modelled lodes. These notably include 35.98 g/t Au over 1.8m which includes a bonanza grade intercept of 194.00 g/t Au from a downhole depth of only 53.0m in hole TUDDH-609, as well as 19.70 g/t Au over 1.8m from only 99.3m downhole depth in hole TUG-146. These additional near-surface intercepts will add significantly to the overall inventory of high-grade mineralization slated for early production at Tuvatu.
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