Lion One Metals Limited reported total gold production of 4,678 ounces from its Tuvatu Gold Mine in Fiji in the quarter ended 30 September 2026, supported by higher gold recovery and the drawdown of in-circuit gold inventory.
The Canadian gold producer said on 20 October that it recovered 3,796 ounces of gold from mill operations during the quarter, a 15% increase from the 3,291 ounces recovered in the previous quarter.
A further 882 ounces came from the drawdown of gold inventory and shipments of gold-bearing carbon for processing and recovery, bringing total quarterly gold production to a record level for deliveries from Tuvatu.
The mine recorded an average gold head grade of 4.3 grams per tonne and a recovery rate of 83.8%, while processing 32,588 tonnes of mineralised material. Mill utilisation reached 95.1%.
Lion One said the recovered gold represented a 39% increase from the quarter ended 31 March 2026, when production reached 2,726 ounces.
The company attributed the additional gold output partly to efforts to improve gravity recovery and carbon stripping. About 8.8 tonnes of carbon was removed from the leach circuit and replaced with fresh carbon, with the removed material shipped off-site for recovery of residual gold.
Underground mine development totalled 1,539 metres during the quarter, including 359 metres of capital development and a record 1,181 metres of operating development.
Although total development was below the previous quarter’s 1,660 metres, it remained above the long-term quarterly average of 1,445 metres recorded from January 2025 to September 2026.
Lion One said capital development was affected by equipment availability, with underground drilling jumbos recording overall availability of 59% during the quarter amid unplanned downtime in September.
The company also reported further improvement in its safety performance. It recorded one lost-time incident and two medical-aid incidents during the quarter, resulting in a total recordable incident frequency rate of 1.83 per 200,000 hours worked.
This compared with rates of 4.37 in the April-to-June quarter and 6.55 in the January-to-March period.
New underground drill begins operation
Lion One also announced that a new Boart Longyear LM90 underground core drill had arrived at Tuvatu ahead of schedule and entered operation following operator training.
The equipment will target the Zone 500 and West Zone from underground, supporting resource expansion and upgrades in both areas.
The company said the drill would allow shorter, faster and lower-cost holes with improved intersection angles, enabling more effective exploration of the two zones from deep underground.
With the addition of the LM90, Lion One’s active drilling fleet comprises four underground drills and two surface drills.
Lion One operates the Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project, which includes the gold deposit, underground mine, pilot plant and assay laboratory. The company also holds an exploration licence covering the Navilawa Caldera, which contains multiple mineralised zones and exploration targets.
