Lahontan Plans Drilling to Test Historic Waste Rock at Santa Fe - A Potential Source of Additional Low Cost Gold Production
Lahontan tests 9 million tonnes of historic waste rock for low-cost heap leach upside at its project.
Lahontan Gold Corp. announced a planned reverse-circulation (RC) drill program targeting the Santa Fe East Waste Rock Storage Facility (WRSF) at its flagship Santa Fe Mine Project in Nevada. The program will consist of up to 100 RC drill holes averaging 35 metres in depth to evaluate tonnage, distribution, and grades of approximately 9.0 million tonnes of historic waste rock.
The strategic objective is to assess the material's potential for heap leach processing, which could generate additional low-cost gold and silver production early in the mine life. The WRSF material is already scheduled to be moved as part of the stripping sequence outlined in the October 2026 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). Evaluating it for heap leach represents an optimization step rather than a new resource discovery.
The announcement references the October 2026 PEA base case: 11-year mine life, 91,900 AuEq oz/year average production, post-tax NPV5 of US$820.0 million, IRR of 40.1%, pre-production capex of US$172.0 million, and AISC of US$2,250/oz. Current NI 43-101 resources stand at 1,195,000 oz AuEq Indicated and 1,190,000 oz AuEq Inferred. Management confirms the company remains on track for mine permitting advancement and a targeted construction start in 2027.
Lahontan Gold Corp. (LG) has announced a planned drilling campaign designed to test waste rock for heap leach viability. This initiative serves as a direct follow-up to the October 2026 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), which already incorporated the movement of the waste rock storage facility (WRSF) into the mine plan. The announcement provides no new financial metrics, revised resource estimates, or changes to the production timeline, representing a standard technical evaluation step to optimize early-stage economics.
Market reaction is expected to be limited, as the potential upside from heap leaching the waste rock is already embedded in the PEA's base case assumptions. While positive assay results could enhance the project's economics, negative results would not fundamentally alter the development path since the material must be moved regardless.
The stock has declined from its March 2026 peak of $0.48 to $0.27, reflecting broader junior mining sentiment, the long timeline to production, and the company's explicit going-concern warning. This incremental operational update does not alter the near-term risk/reward profile.
Lahontan Gold Corp. is a Nevada-focused mine development company targeting a brownfields restart at the Santa Fe Mine Project. The company’s flagship asset is the Santa Fe Mine, located on the Walker Lane in Nevada, comprising a 28.3 km² land package that is 100% owned. The project is currently in the permitting and mine planning stage, with a targeted production restart in 2027.
Mineral resources at the Santa Fe Mine total 1,195,000 oz AuEq Indicated and 1,190,000 oz AuEq Inferred, based on an effective date of August 2026. An October 2026 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlines an 11-year mine life, with an average annual production of 91,900 AuEq oz. The study projects a post-tax NPV5 of US$820.0 million, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 40.1%, pre-production capital expenditure of US$172.0 million, and an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$2,250/oz. The base case assumes gold at US$3,600/oz and silver at US$49/oz.
In addition to the Santa Fe Mine, Lahontan Gold Corp. holds a regional portfolio exceeding 93 km². This includes the West Santa Fe asset, which the company acquired in September 2026, resulting in 100% ownership. The company also holds the Moho project, which is in the pre-feasibility study (PFS) stage, as well as the New York Canyon asset.