Lion One Metals (TSXV: LIO) announced that “a robust structural network” has been revealed at its 100%-owned Tuvatu alkaline gold project in Fiji.
In a press release, the miner explained that controlled source audio magnetotelluric or CSAMT surveys conducted in late 2019 clearly show structural controls of known lode systems and reveal numerous new untested targets.
In detail, the studies reveal a deep-rooted, E-dipping structural corridor controls the N-S striking Tuvatu lode system opening up potential for drill expansion of these lodes beyond 1-kilometre depth and helping focus the search for a feeder.
Lion One now has a long list of new structural drill targets that have the potential for hosting gold-bearing lode deposits
The surveys also revealed at least three untested structural corridors identified west of the Tuvatu lode system and two to the east, all similarly deep-rooted like the Tuvatu lode system.
“As hoped, our recent CSAMT results have provided a detailed picture of the underlying structural architecture of the Tuvatu alkaline gold system,” Quinton Hennigh, technical advisor to Lion One, said in the statement. “We can readily see evidence of structures we think were critical conduits for gold-bearing fluids during time of mineralization. This has generated a multitude of new drill targets. In the vicinity of the Tuvatu deposit, we can discern structures that will allow us to better plan holes in search of feeders at depth, we readily see new structural zones that have yet to be drill tested, we see structural intersections that may have served to localized mineralization, and importantly, we see many new untested structures elsewhere within the Navilawa caldera.”
The high-grade Tuvatu project is the largest undeveloped gold project in Fiji. According to Lion One, it is expected to produce 100,000 ounces of the yellow metal per year over its 10-year mine life. The production target is based on a 600-tonne-per-day CIL operation yielding recoveries of 86% with up to 40% of gold recoverable through the gravity circuit.