Lahontan Submits Notice of Operations to BLM for Drilling at West Santa Fe

The most recent news release from October 15, 2025, states that Lahontan Gold Corp. has submitted a Notice of Operations (the "Notice") to the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a proposed exploration drilling program at its West Santa Fe Project. This Notice seeks a permit for multiple drill sites, access road construction, and sumps for drilling fluids. The West Santa Fe Project is located 13 kilometres southwest of the company's flagship Santa Fe Mine Project.

Upon approval, the company intends to conduct its first drilling program at West Santa Fe. The primary objectives are to validate an extensive historic drill hole database (171 drill holes for ~13,000 metres) and expand the footprint of shallow, oxidized gold and silver mineralization. The drilling strategy involves multiple holes from each site, twining, drilling down-dip, and exploring along strike from known mineralized areas. The company highlights that historic geologic findings indicate mineralization continues for over 1,000 metres to the east from the Mindora underground mine, an area with numerous shallow adits and prospect pits.

Kimberly Ann, Lahontan's Founder, Chair, CEO, and President, expressed excitement about this step, reiterating the goal to validate historic data and expand the mineralization footprint.

This news represents a routine procedural step in the exploration process for the West Santa Fe Project. Lahontan Gold Corp. had previously announced its intention to pursue a drilling program at West Santa Fe, outlining a 6,300-meter Phase 1 drilling plan in February 2025 and stating that the Notice of Intent (NOI) would be submitted shortly thereafter. The company also indicated in August 2025 that West Santa Fe would be a target for 2025 drilling. Therefore, the submission of the Notice of Operations is an expected development and a confirmation of previously stated plans, rather than new, material information.

While obtaining permits for exploration is a positive and necessary step to advance the project, the actual drilling and, more importantly, the assay results, are the significant catalysts. The current news merely signifies progress in the permitting pipeline. Given the company's consistent updates on this project since its acquisition term sheet in May 2023, the market would likely have already priced in the expectation of this administrative filing.

The positive aspect is that the company is systematically moving forward with its exploration strategy for West Santa Fe, which has shown promising high-grade rock-chip samples (up to 14.60 g/t AuEq in February 2024) and holds the potential for a maiden mineral resource estimate. However, the impact on the stock price from this specific news is likely neutral as it is anticipated.

The context of this news also includes the acceleration of warrants announced on September 5, 2025. This acceleration, triggered by the stock price exceeding $0.12 for 10 consecutive trading days, will bring in $1,708,228 in cash by October 21, 2025. This immediate capital infusion is more material to the company's short-term financial stability given its low cash balance ($105,960 as of March 31, 2025) and ongoing operational and exploration expenditures. The current stock price of $0.20 is significantly above the warrant exercise price of $0.08, making the exercise highly likely and providing much-needed working capital. The rally to $0.20 has, therefore, a more direct and material positive impact than the permit application.

Lahontan Gold Corp. is a junior exploration and development company focused on advancing its precious metal projects in Nevada's prolific Walker Lane gold and silver belt. The company's primary asset is the Santa Fe Mine Project, which historically produced 345,000-359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067-784,000 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995 through open-pit mining and heap-leach processing.

Lahontan has established a significant mineral resource at Santa Fe: * Indicated Mineral Resources: 1,539,000 AuEq ounces at 0.99 g/t AuEq (as of Oct 9, 2024 MRE). * Inferred Mineral Resources: 411,000 AuEq ounces at 0.76 g/t AuEq (as of Oct 9, 2024 MRE). These resources are pit-constrained.

The company's strategy involves: 1. Resource Expansion: Aggressive drilling campaigns at Santa Fe (Slab, Calvada, York areas) and West Santa Fe to expand known gold and silver resources, especially shallow oxide mineralization. 2. Permitting & Mine Development: Advancing the Santa Fe project through federal (BLM's Plan of Operations - POO, NEPA review) and state permitting processes with the goal of restarting mining operations. 3. Metallurgical Optimization: Conducting test work to verify historic recoveries and optimize processing flowsheets, particularly for transition material. 4. Strategic Acquisitions: Acquiring bolt-on assets like the West Santa Fe project, which has potential to host 0.5-1.0 million ounces of oxidized gold and silver. West Santa Fe is located 13-15 km west of Santa Fe.

Lahontan controls a total land package of 64.1 square kilometres in Nevada's Walker Lane, with 26.4 sq km at Santa Fe and 19.7 sq km at West Santa Fe. The company's long-term vision is to become an "oxide consolidator" in the region and bring Santa Fe back into production.