Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) announced additional results from its 2026 Sonic core drilling program at the Santa Fe Mine Project, revealing that nine drill holes in a historic low-grade stockpile averaged 1.96 g/t gold equivalent, including 1.64 g/t gold and 36.2 g/t silver. This stockpile, located adjacent to Heap Leach Pad Two, contains previously mined material that is being evaluated for potential future reprocessing, which could be significantly cheaper than mining and processing fresh rock.
The importance of these results lies in the potential to enhance the economic viability of the Santa Fe Mine project. The stockpile material, which was historically considered waste, may now be a valuable asset. CN-extractable gold assays averaged 43% of corresponding fire assay values, suggesting that the material may be amenable to conventional heap leach processing, a lower-cost method compared to milling. This could extend the mine life and improve the overall project economics without the need for additional mining or extensive crushing.
Lahontan Gold is a Canadian mine development and mineral exploration company holding four top-tier gold and silver properties in the Walker Lane of mining-friendly Nevada. Its 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 currently 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. Mr. Lindholm was not an author for the Technical Report but can confirm that the grade and ounces in this press release are the same as those given in the Technical Report.
These stockpile drilling results are particularly significant because they indicate that the company may be able to reprocess this material at a lower cost, potentially increasing the project's profitability and reducing environmental impact by utilizing existing material rather than expanding mining operations. The high gold equivalent grade from the stockpile, which is higher than the average grade of the current resource, suggests that this material could be a near-term production opportunity.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.lahontangoldcorp.com and the full press release at https://ibn.fm/F7hVP.
