$4m laboratory commissioned in Waimalika

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LION ONE LTD Managing Director Stephen Mann holds some of the sample rocks containing gold during the commissioning of the LION ONE LTD Laboratory in Nadi. Picture: REINAL CHAND

A $4MILLION metallurgical and geochemical assay laboratory, which will be able to analyse a range of 36 different elements, was commissioned in Waimalika, Nadi, yesterday.

The world-class facility is the latest investment of Lion One Metals Ltd which is working on the Tuvatu Alkaline Gold project.

Minister for Lands Ashneel Sudhakar, who officiated at the commissioning, said the laboratory was strategically located just 1km away from the Nadi International Airport.

“The assay laboratory will service the company’s exploration, resource definition, and development activities on its 100 per cent-owned and fully-permitted Tuvatu gold project and surrounding exploration tenements,” Mr Sudhakar said.

“This laboratory has also been built to cater for third-party analysis. It is equipped with the best equipment available from the US and Australia and will be able to undertake gold analysis by fire assay with atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) finish.”

Presently, the minister said, gold and nine other potentially-commercial elements were being analysed at the facility, however, the lab also had the ability to analyse a range of different elements.

He added a Canadian company had invested more than $100m in Fiji and the figure was expected to double by the time the Tuvatu gold mine would go into production.

Company managing director Stephen Mann said the laboratory employed 50 locals and the numbers were expected to increase once the mine started its operations.

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