Lion One Reports 3,796 oz in Quarterly Gold Recovery, Delivery of LM90 Underground Drill

Lion One Metals Limited released preliminary operating results for its 100%-owned Tuvatu Gold Mine in Fiji for the third quarter of 2026, covering the period ended September 30, 2026. The company reported that mill operations recovered 3,796 ounces of gold, a 15% increase quarter-over-quarter from the 3,291 ounces produced in Q2 2026. An additional 882 ounces were generated from the draw-down of gold in inventory and carbon shipments, bringing the headline total production to 4,678 ounces, which the company described as a record quarterly gold delivery.

During the quarter, the mine processed 32,588 tonnes of ore at an average rate of approximately 354 tonnes per day. Mill utilization reached 95.1%, with specific utilization rates of 97.4% in August and 98.3% in September. The average head grade remained flat at 4.3 g/t compared to Q2 2026, while gold recovery rates declined to 83.8% from 84.9% in the previous quarter, a decrease the company explicitly characterized as a 1% drop.

Underground development totaled 1,539 meters, representing a 7% quarter-over-quarter decline from the 1,660 meters recorded in Q2 2026. This figure comprised 359 meters of capital development and a record 1,181 meters of operating development. Jumbo availability for the quarter stood at 59%, a figure the company attributed to heavy impacts from unplanned downtime in September. On the safety front, the mine recorded one lost-time incident and two medical aids, resulting in a Total Recordable Incident Frequency (TRIF) of 1.83, down from 4.37 in Q2 and 6.55 in Q1.

The LM90 Boart Longyear underground core drill arrived ahead of schedule and is now operational, expanding the active fleet to four underground and two surface rigs. This delivery fulfills a commitment outlined in the company’s July 27, 2026 release, which had guided for delivery by mid-October 2026. In corporate news, Lion One Metals disclosed an engagement with Global One Media for digital investor relations services. The six-month agreement, dated August 31, 2026, carries a total cost of US$39,000, with US$19,500 prepaid.

The release did not include first-in-class costs (AISC), cash cost per ounce, cost of sales, or realized gold price figures. There was no revenue, cash flow, or margin data provided, nor were there any updates to reserve or resource statements. The company offered no explicit guidance for Q4 2026 or full-year production. Additionally, there was no update regarding the Nebari refinancing, the forbearance fee, or the working capital covenant, despite the Tranche 1 maturity extension to December 31, 2026 remaining the single largest outstanding risk.

Lion One Metals Limited released a preliminary operating update on Tuesday, providing limited informational content focused on volumes, grade, recovery, throughput, and development metres. The update confirmed that the LM90 arrived ahead of schedule and delivered Q3 volume, grade, recovery, and development numbers.

The company had previously telegraphed continued sequential production improvement on July 9, 2026, and again on June 16, 2026. The 15% quarter-over-quarter gain in recovered ounces represents a continuation of the established recovery arc rather than a surprise.

A record quarterly gold delivery of 4,678 ounces was reported, a figure that depends entirely on 882 ounces drawn from in-circuit inventory and carbon shipments. In-circuit inventory draw-down is a finite, non-recurring buffer, meaning the same inventory cannot be drawn down twice. Carbon replacement of 8.8 tonnes is a maintenance action that may modestly help future recovery, but the associated 882 ounces constitutes a one-time recovery of gold that was already mined and contained. On recovered ounces alone, Q3 production of 3,796 ounces remains 13.4% below the Q4 2025 record.

Recovery fell quarter-over-quarter, while head grade remained flat for the second consecutive quarter. Total development fell 7% quarter-over-quarter, with capital development reaching only 359 metres and jumbo availability at just 59%.

The stock is trading at C$0.17, against a C$0.38 52-week high and a C$0.12 low. It has been range-bound between C$0.16 and C$0.21 since the late-September drill release.

Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO; OTCQX: LOMLF), headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia, operates the 100%-owned Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project on Viti Levu, Fiji. The asset comprises the high-grade Tuvatu alkaline gold deposit, an underground gold mine, a pilot processing plant with a 300 tpd nameplate capacity that is currently running at approximately 354 tpd, a filtered tailings storage facility, and an on-site assay laboratory.

Mining at Tuvatu utilizes a narrow-vein, high-grade underground method, employing a multi-method philosophy that includes shrinkage stoping, cut-and-fill, longhole, and development techniques. These methods are selected based on vein geometry, geotechnical conditions, and grade distribution.

The company holds an extensive license covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, described as approximately 7 km wide with more than 30 untested targets. Exploration also includes the Wailoaloa alkalic copper-gold porphyry discovery, located approximately 1 km northeast of Tuvatu.

Fiji offers a 100-year gold mining history, a stable democracy, and a Fraser Institute ranking of #31 for 2023, alongside supportive government relations. However, the company faces single-jurisdiction concentration risk, with the file noting local environmental and permitting friction, including the Sabeto River process-water discharge issue that necessitated a US$1.14M evaporator investment.

The exploration and drill fleet consists of four active underground drills and two surface drills, following the delivery of the Boart Longyear LM90, which features a 990 m maximum depth, a +90° to −90° dip range, and AQ–NQ rod sizes.