Lion One Metals Ltd. (LIO:TSX.V; LOMLF:OTCQX) announced in a news release it started a regional geochemical survey across the Navilawa caldera near the company’s Tuvatu project on Viti Levu in Fiji.
This survey, which will cover Navilawa SPL 1512, is part of the first phase of the company’s planned 2019 exploration program. Lion One will employ the bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) technique during the survey to analyze the fine-grained gold taken from stream sediment locales over the 7 kilometer (7 km) in diameter caldera.
Similar work, already underway over the area covered in the Tuvatu mining lease and the immediately adjacent parts of the exploration licenses (SML1283, SML1296, SML1465), continues as well.
The second phase of this year’s exploration program will be a geophysical survey over Navilawa using controlled source audiofrequency magnetotellurics. This will be done to assess the deeper structure of the gold system and further delineating drill targets.
Lion One’s technical advisor, Dr. Quinton Hennigh, pointed out in the release that alkaline gold systems typically have “deep vertical profiles.” Also, drilling at Tuvatu has been done only to a depth of 300 meter (300m), and mineralization remains open laterally across the highly prospective ground in the caldera. Further, the Vatukoula project, which is about 40 km away from the caldera, has an 11 million-ounce-plus gold deposit. “So we believe Tuvatu has significant resource upside potential,” Hennigh added.
