Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) has released initial results from its 2026 Sonic core drilling program at the Santa Fe Mine Project, revealing higher-than-expected gold and silver grades in a historic stockpile previously classified as low-grade. The company announced that drilling confirmed significant mineralization in the stockpile adjacent to Heap Leach Pad Two, with grades substantially exceeding the material’s original classification. This stockpile contains readily accessible material that Lahontan believes may be suitable for low-cost future reprocessing, as cyanide-extractable gold assays averaged more than 30%, indicating favorable heap-leach characteristics.
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 significant for Lahontan Gold as it seeks to optimize the Santa Fe Mine project, which 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 currently holds 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 positive drilling results from the historic stockpile could reduce initial capital requirements and operational costs for restarting production, as processing readily accessible material from stockpiles is typically cheaper than mining new ore. For investors, this may enhance the project's economics and shorten the timeline to production. The company’s focus on defining resources within existing heap leach pads and stockpiles aligns with its strategy to restart production in 2027.
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, visit the company’s website at www.lahontangoldcorp.com. To view the full press release, visit https://ibn.fm/a0odu.
