Lahontan Gold Uncovers Higher-Grade Stockpile at Santa Fe Mine — Lahontan Gold Corp.

Event summary

Lahontan Gold drilled 10.7m grading 1.81 g/t Au and 64.8 g/t Ag in a historic 'low-grade' stockpile at Santa Fe Mine, significantly higher than anticipated.
Nine drill holes averaged 1.96 g/t Au Eq, confirming substantial gold and silver mineralization.
Stockpile material, previously mined by Corona Gold, is readily accessible and may be amenable to conventional heap leach processing.
Company plans to complete 96 drill holes across four historic heap leach pads, totaling 16 million tonnes of material.
Results from initial Sonic drilling on Heap Leach Pad Two expected shortly.

The big picture

Lahontan Gold's discovery of higher-grade mineralization in a historic stockpile at the Santa Fe Mine project underscores the potential for low-cost resource optimization in Nevada's prolific Walker Lane. The findings come as the company advances its flagship project towards a targeted return to production in 2027, highlighting the strategic importance of reprocessing residual mineralization from historic heap leach pads. The results may also influence the broader industry's approach to evaluating and reprocessing legacy mining assets.

What we're watching

Resource Potential: Whether the higher-grade stockpile results can be replicated across other historic heap leach pads, potentially unlocking additional low-cost feed for future processing.
Processing Feasibility: The pace at which CN-extractable gold assays and metallurgical testing can confirm the amenability of the stockpiled material to heap leach processing.
Permitting Timeline: How delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV, could impact the company's objective of commencing construction in 2027.