LION ONE METALS CO., LTD (TSXV: Leo) (OTCCQX: Lomlf) (“Lion One” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the commencement of the first phase of the Company’s phased mill expansion project to 700 tons per day at its 100% owned Tuvatu gold mine in Fiji. The first phase consists of a refinery waste expansion project and is expected to increase the total capacity of the plant from 300 tons per day to 400 tons per day once completed.
Highlights of the first phase of the factory expansion:
- Double filtration capacity at Tuvatu processing plant
- Removing a fundamental bottleneck from processing operations
- Increasing the factory capacity from 300 tons per day to 400 tons per day
- Increase production by an estimated 2,100 ounces of gold annually
- Capital expenditures: 1.9 million Canadian dollars
- Additional revenue estimated at C$11.8 million per year at current gold prices
- Get 3 months payout and great ongoing benefits
- Target completion date is by the end of the first quarter of 2027
The Tuvatu processing plant has a nominal capacity of 300 tons per day. The Tovato Mill Expansion Project is designed to increase the plant’s capacity from 300 tons per day to 700 tons per day and will be constructed in phases at a total capital cost of C$13,500,000.
The first phase of the 700 t/d expansion is now underway and consists of a filter tailings expansion project, which is designed to double the plant’s filtration capacity. The Tovato filtration circuit has been identified as the major bottleneck of the treatment operations and currently consists of two filtration presses. The filter waste expansion project includes the addition of two new filter presses, one filter feed tank, two filter feed pumps, associated structural and piping modifications, and an additional waste truck. Once the project is completed, it is expected that… Significantly increased nominal mill capacity from 300 tons per day to 400 tons per day. This increase in production is expected to increase Generating an additional 2,100 ounces of gold annually Based on a minimum additional gold grade of 3 g/t.
The total cost of the filtered waste expansion project is C$1,900,000, with additional incremental operating costs of C$230,000 per year. At US$4,000 per ounce of gold, the increase in production to 400 tons per day represents approx $11,800,000 CAD in additional revenue annually for the company. After calculating operating costs The project is expected to achieve returns within 3 months of operation. With great ongoing annual benefits.
Design and construction activities have begun on the refinery waste expansion project. The new filter presses will be identical to the filter presses currently used at Tuvatu, ensuring similar component parts and operating procedures. Construction of the filtration expansion project is expected to take 6 to 9 months, with a targeted completion date of the end of the first quarter of 2027. No additional mining or processing equipment is needed to support the increase in production to 400 tons per day.
“We are very excited to begin the first phase of the mill expansion project,” said Ian Berzins, President and CEO of Lion One. “The filter press expansion is a key component of the expansion to 700 tons per day and will have an immediate impact on our production capacity once complete. The economics of the project are very strong with a payback period of only 3 months. It is very rare to have a capital project with such a large impact and also have such a short payback period, so we are very excited to get this project underway and look forward to its completion in early 2027.”
Figure 1. Tuvatu filtration system. Left: Two filter mills currently in operation in Tuvatu. Right: Pressure water filter, which is recycled back to the treatment facility.
Company update
The company also announces the appointment of Shayla Forrester to the position of Company Secretary. Ms. Forster has extensive experience providing corporate secretarial, governance, compliance, financing facilitation and disclosure advisory services to numerous publicly listed issuers, including companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, Canadian Securities Exchange and OTCQB.
Statement of qualified persons
In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43- 101”), William J. Witte, P.Eng., the Company’s principal counsel, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has reviewed and approved the technical and scientific content of this press release.
Lion One Laboratories/QAQC
Lion One adheres to stringent quality and quality control procedures beyond basic regulatory guidelines in conducting drilling, sampling, testing and analyses. The company operates its own geochemical screening laboratory and its own fleet of diamond drilling rigs using PQ, HQ and NQ sized drill rods.
Diamond drill core samples are recorded by Lion One staff on site. Exploration diamond drill cores are split by Lion One staff on site, with half of the core samples sent for analysis and the other half remaining on site. The grade control diamond drill core is a complete core that is evaluated. Core samples are delivered to the Lion One laboratory for preparation and analysis. All samples are crushed in the Lion One laboratory to 85% through 75 microns and gold analysis is performed using a fire test with an AA finish. Samples returning grades greater than 10.00 g/t Au are reanalyzed by the gravimetric method, which is more accurate for very high quality samples.
Duplicates of 5% of samples grading > 0.5 g/t Au are delivered to global ALS laboratories in Australia for screening of assay determinations using the same methods (Au-AA26 and Au-GRA22 where applicable). ALS also analyzes 33 pathway components by HF-HNO3-HClO4 acid digestion, HCl filtration, and ICP-AES (method ME-ICP61). The Lion One laboratory can test a set of up to 71 elements with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) but is currently focused on a set of 26 critical Pathfinder elements with aqueous extract and ICP-OES finish.
About Lion One Metals Co., Ltd
Lion One Metals is an emerging Canadian gold producer headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with new operations set up in late 2023 at the 100%-owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project in Fiji. The Tuvatu Project includes the Tuvatu high-grade alkali gold deposit, an underground gold mine, a pilot plant, and an assay laboratory. The company also holds a large-scale exploration license covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, which hosts multiple mineralized zones and very promising exploration targets.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Ian Berzins, CEO, President and Board Member
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
This press release may contain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained herein are forward-looking information. In general, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects”, “does not anticipate”, “proposed”, “expected”, “budget”, “planned”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “does not anticipate”, “believes” or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases that indicate that certain actions, events or results may, may or may occur. Or come true. This forward-looking information reflects Lion One Metals Limited’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Lion One Metals Limited and on assumptions that Lion One Metals Limited believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, that actual results from exploration projects will be equal to or better than results estimated in technical reports, appraisal reports, other geological reports or previous exploration results. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Lion One Metals Limited or its subsidiaries to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. These risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: Lion One Metals Limited’s stage of development, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; The actual results of current research and development or operational activities; a race; uncertainty regarding patent applications and intellectual property rights; product liability and lack of insurance; delays or failure to obtain board or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting mining, and the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; Not realizing the potential benefits of technology; Conclusions of economic evaluations. The shortage of qualified and skilled workers or the loss of key personnel. Although Lion One Metals Limited has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Lion One Metals Limited undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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