Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO) has made a new regional high-grade gold discovery, the Batiri Creek Vein, located in the Navilawa Caldera, two km northeast of the company’s 100% owned, fully permitted Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji.
The Batiri Vein discovery is credited to the Lion One Fiji exploration team’s regional benching and surface sampling programme targeting new gold bearing systems in under-explored regions peripheral to Tuvatu in the surrounding Navilawa Caldera.
The lithological contact and structural intersections observed in the Batiri Vein are comparable to the lithological contact and structural intersections observed from deep extensional drilling in the 500 Zone below the Tuvatu resource where Lion One recently reported the longest and highest-grade intercepts yet recovered at Tuvatu, including 20.86 g/t Au over 75.90m from TUG 141 and 12.22 g/t Au over 54.90m including 20.10m @ 23.03 g/t Au from TUDDH 601.
Highlight intercepts from surface benching/channel sampling program include:
Surface Channel: Batiri Vein (CH3047-CH3048)
- 13.27g/t Au over 4.0m at surface including:
- 36.10 g/t Au over 1.0m and
- 17.91 g/t Au over 0.80m
Other results from the Batiri Vein include:
- Channel CH2765 with 2.63g/t Au over 1.0m
- Channel CH2834 with 3.32g/t Au over 0.3m
- Channel CH2789 with 3.54g/t Au over 0.3m
- Channel CH2946 with 3.42g/t Au over 0.4m
- Channel CH3073 with 3.32g/t Au over 1.0m
Lion One is planning a regional drill programme for the Batiri Vein target. The company now has eight drill rigs, with the pending delivery of the latest two rigs expected around mid-September.
The company currently has two drilling programmes underway, including Zone 5 infill drilling on the Tuvatu resource, and deep extensional drilling in Zone 500 below the Tuvatu resource.
Lion One has now drilled approximately 6,100 m, about 75% of the planned infill drilling on Zone 5 and expects to announce the results from previously unreleased holes in the near future.
Lion One technical advisor Quinton Hennigh said Tuvatu and the wider Navilawa Caldera are part of a classic alkaline gold system.
“As we know, from geologically comparable world class systems, such as Porgera in PNG or Cripple Creek in Colorado, these kinds of deposits are not isolated and there is potential for multiple zones of mineralisation within the gold camp. The new discovery on the Batiri Vein presents the potential for such a new discovery.”
Lion One CEO Walter Berukoff said the new discovery at surface on the Batiri Vein is very encouraging.
“While the Tuvatu Gold Project is the core of our development, any new discoveries in the immediate vicinity potentially play a part in the development of a high-grade gold mine. We look forward to following this up with drilling in the near future.”
For further information please visit: https://liononemetals.com/