CAPITAL MARKETS

Capital firms back Lion One raising

LION One Metals has announced an underwritten placement with Eight Capital and Canaccord Genuity to help accelerate its Fijian gold exploration and development plans.

Tuvatu in Fiji

Tuvatu in Fiji

The raising will generate at least C$12.5 million at 77c per share, with the underwriters having an option to issue an extra $1.8 million worth of shares if there is excess demand.

The company, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, has had recent exploration success, with a new regional gold discovery at Batiri Creek, 2km from its flagship Tuvatu alkaline gold project, where it has also had luck with the drillbit.

Twenty additional diamond core holes for 3900m at Tuvatu has improved the company's understanding of the mineralised area as it targets first production next year.

The explorer says it continues to intersect high-grade and bonanza‐grade mineralised lode swarms less than 100m from surface, and is still to close off the system along strike or at depth.

Results were headlined by 0.3m at 171.5gpt grams per tonne and 0.3m at 79.2m within 3.9m at 20.6gpt from 98m.

Lion One expects the new resource will be more robust given its recent drilling has delivered much higher grades than expected.

CEO Walter Berukoff has not been shy about comparing Tuvatu to Porgera in Papua New Guinea, and talking about the project as a multi‐million‐ounce, high‐grade gold producer.

Batiri Creek was defined in August through regional surface sampling, and the vein is considered similar to the results of deep drilling below Tuvatu where Lion One recently reported the longest and highest-grade intercepts yet, including 75.9m at 20.86gpt in a new feeder structure.

Channel sampling returned 4m at 13.27gpt from surface, including 1m at 36.1gpt.

Tuvatu and Batiri Creek both sit within the resource rich Navilawa Caldera.

Underground decline development and drilling continue at the 650,000 ounce grading 8.8gpt Tuvatu, with first gold expected in mid-2023.

Lion One's CDIs were off 11% in Australia on Friday to A90c, valuing it at $133 million.

It has traded between 84c and $2.45 over the past year.

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