TNM Drill Down: Lion One in Fiji leads gold assays for August-September

Drilling in Fiji, Ecuador and the United States returned the top gold results for the Aug. 17 to Sept. 15 period, with assays from Lion One Metals (TSXV: LIO), Auro Metals (TSXV: AURO) and American Pacific Mining (CSE: USGD) leading the group.

Drill holes are ranked by grade times width. Here are the top 10.

Tuvatu

Drilling at Lion One Metals’ Tuvatu project in Fiji cut 4.2 metres grading 715 grams gold per tonne from 121.1 metres depth, including an ultra-high intercept of 0.45 metres at 6,571 grams gold in hole TGC-0650, the company reported on Aug. 20. That amounts to a width x grade value of 3,004.

The result came from underground infill and grade control drilling, targeting the southern and down-dip extensions of the Ura and Murau lodes in Zone 2 below level 1061, the lowest level in the zone. Drilling was conducted from one near-surface underground drill station on the 1103 level. The company intersected high-grade mineralization in 14 out of 18 drillholes, with three drill holes abandoned.

Tuvatu is a producing mine, though the reported results were drilled into near-mine extensions and not active stopes.

The mine produced 3,291 oz. gold in the quarter ending in June and 15,352 oz. of gold in 2025.

Santa Barbara

Hole DSB-68 at Auro’s Santa Barbara project in southeastern Ecuador cut 905.2 metres grading 0.60 gram gold and 0.12% copper from 56.5 metres depth, the company reported on Sept. 15, for a gold width x grade value of 543.

The hole tested the depth of the porphyry system at Santa Barbara South. It was the deepest hole completed at the project, reaching 1,282 metres, and continued through weaker mineralization below the reported interval to the end of the hole.

Auro completed 11,047 metres of drilling during its initial 2026 program and has started another 20,000 metres of drilling targeting extensions and a future resource update.

Santa Barbara hosts indicated resources of 29.8 million tonnes grading 0.73 gram gold and 0.1% copper for 697,000 oz. of gold and 68 million lb. of copper, according to an initial resource from March. Inferred resources total 205.7 million tonnes at 0.52 gram gold and 0.09% copper for 3.4 million oz. of gold and 426 million lb. of copper.

Madison

Hole M26C-02 at American Pacific’s Madison project in Montana pierced 20.1 metres grading 11.15 grams gold, 14.3 grams silver and 0.42% copper from 218.2 metres depth, the company reported on Sept. 9. That represents a width x grade value of 224.

M26C-02 delivered the first assays from American Pacific’s ongoing 15,000-metre drill program.

The interval occurred within 30.8 metres of massive sulphide mineralization grading 7.4 grams gold, 9.62 grams silver and 0.29% copper. It included 7.9 metres at 25.3 grams gold, 29.6 grams silver and 0.86% copper. The vertical step-out tested the area between the historical Madison and Broadway mines, where mineralization remains open and appears to thicken southwest.

Madison is a past-producing, advanced-exploration project. Small-scale mining that ended in 2012 yielded about 7,570 oz. gold and 2.7 million lb. copper.