Lahontan Gold receives BLM approval for Santa Fe EPOO

Executive Summary

• Lahontan Gold Corp. received final approval from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for its Exploration Plan of Operations (EPOO) at the Santa Fe mine project in Nevada.
• The approval concludes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and expands the company's permitted exploration area from a previous 5-acre disturbance zone to 12.2 square kilometers.
• This authorization allows Lahontan to conduct extensive exploration drilling across new targets, including the Pinnacles area, Guzzler target, and historic heap leach pads, to assess the broader gold and silver endowment of the project.

Key Details

• Regulatory Decision: The BLM published its Decision Record (DR), Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and approved the EPOO, authorizing expanded exploration and mine development.
• Permitted Area: The new EPOO covers a 12-square-kilometre (12.2 sq km) area, significantly larger than the previous 5-acre limit.
• Drilling Scope: The approval permits over 700 permitted drill holes targeting geologic and geochemical anomalies, as well as previously drilled areas requiring follow-up.
• Priority Targets:
  • Pinnacles Area: Hosted in a geologic setting similar to Fortitude Gold’s nearby Isabella Pearl mine.
  • Guzzler Target: Located south of the Santa Fe open pit, featuring important historic drilling.
  • Untested Zones: Multiple zones between known resource areas at Santa Fe.
  • Historic Heap Leach Pads: Areas to be drill-tested for potential remnant mineralization.
• Project Background: The Santa Fe mine project had past production of 359,202 oz gold and 702,067 oz silver (1988–1995).
• Current Resources (NI 43-101):
  • Indicated: 1,539,000 oz AuEq (48.393M tonnes @ 0.92 g/t Au, 7.18 g/t Ag; 0.99 g/t AuEq).
  • Inferred: 411,000 oz AuEq (16.76M tonnes @ 0.74 g/t Au, 3.25 g/t Ag; 0.76 g/t AuEq).
• Future Plans: The company intends to advance Santa Fe toward production, update the Preliminary Economic Assessment, and drill test the West Santa Fe satellite project during 2025.

Notable Quotes

• Kimberly Ann, Executive Chair, Founder, CEO, and President: "Receiving approval of the Santa Fe mine project EPOO represents a landmark milestone for Lahontan. Until now, the company's exploration activities were limited to a five-acre disturbance area, significantly restricting its ability to step out from known resources and fully assess the exploration potential of the Santa Fe mine project. With the approval of the EPOO, Lahontan can now explore a 12.2-square-kilometre area encompassing multiple well-defined geological and geochemical targets located between and adjacent to existing gold and silver resources."