Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) reported initial results from its 2026 Sonic core drilling program at the Santa Fe Mine Project, with drilling confirming significant gold and silver mineralization in a historic “low-grade” stockpile and grades substantially exceeding the material’s original classification. The stockpile, adjacent to Heap Leach Pad Two, contains readily accessible material that the company believes may be suitable for low-cost future reprocessing, with cyanide-extractable gold assays averaging more than 30%, indicating favorable heap-leach characteristics.
Lahontan said the nearly 100-hole Sonic drilling program has now concluded across the site’s four historic heap leach pads, with results from six additional holes in the low-grade stockpile expected shortly. The program is designed to define resources remaining in historic heap leach pads and stockpiles that could provide a lower-cost source of future processing material as the company advances its goal of restarting production at the Santa Fe Mine in 2027.
This development is important because it suggests that previously overlooked material may have significant economic value, potentially enhancing the project's economics. The higher-than-expected grades could reduce the cutoff grade and increase the resource base, making a production restart more viable. For investors, this news signals that Lahontan Gold may be able to generate near-term cash flow from reprocessing stockpiles, which typically require lower capital expenditure compared to new mining operations.
Lahontan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mine development and mineral exploration company that holds, through its US subsidiaries, four top-tier gold and silver exploration properties in the Walker Lane of mining friendly Nevada. Lahontan’s flagship property, the 26.4 km2 Santa Fe Mine project, had past production of 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995 from open pit mines utilizing heap-leach processing. The Santa Fe Mine has a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,539,000 oz Au Eq (48,393,000 tonnes grading 0.92 g/t Au and 7.18 g/t Ag, together grading 0.99 g/t Au Eq) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 411,000 oz Au Eq (16,760,000 tonnes grading 0.74 g/t Au and 3.25 g/t Ag, together grading 0.76 g/t Au Eq), all pit constrained.
The company plans to continue advancing the Santa Fe Mine project towards production, update the Santa Fe Preliminary Economic Assessment, and drill test its satellite West Santa Fe project during 2025. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Lindholm, CPG, Independent Consulting Geologist to Lahontan Gold Corp., who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
For more information, please visit the company's website at www.lahontangoldcorp.com. The full press release is available at https://ibn.fm/a0odu. This announcement underscores the potential for resource expansion and cost reduction at the Santa Fe project, which could be a catalyst for the company's share price and project advancement.
