Lahontan drills 68.6 m of 0.45 g/t AuEq at Santa Fe
Drilling confirms oxide expansion at Santa Fe as Lahontan pivots toward development and 2027 production goal.
The most recent news (January 27, 2026) reports final assay results from the 2025 Reverse Circulation (RC) drill program at the Slab zone of the Santa Fe Mine project in Nevada. Key results include hole CAL25-011R, which intersected 68.6 meters grading 0.45 g/t AuEq (Gold Equivalent). The results are significant because they extend known oxide gold mineralization to the south, west, and at depth beyond the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) pit shell. This follows results from January 13, 2026, showing 114.3m of 0.33 g/t AuEq at the York zone. Management has signaled that these results will be integrated into an updated MRE and a subsequent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in the coming months.
The news is Material - Positive for several reasons: - Resource Expansion: The drilling confirms that the mineralization is not closed off. By expanding the footprint outside the current pit shells, the company can potentially increase the mineable tonnage, which is critical for the economics of a heap-leach operation. - Consistency: The results (0.45 g/t AuEq over 68m) are consistent with the project's existing resource grade (Indicated ~0.99 g/t AuEq, though these specific expansion zones are lower grade but shallow). - Permitting De-risking: The company is simultaneously drilling for hydrologic and waste rock data (News, Jan 26, 2026), moving the project from pure exploration into the "State-level mine permitting process." - Validation of Strategy: The successful 2025 program validates the decision to expand the land package (York claims acquisition in Oct 2025), as the drill bit is now proving mineralization continues into these new areas.
Lahontan Gold Corp. is a junior explorer focused on the Walker Lane trend in Nevada. Its flagship is the Santa Fe Mine, a past-producer (1988-1995) that utilized open-pit mining and heap-leach processing. - Flagship Project: Santa Fe Mine Project. - Stage: Resource Definition / Permitting. - Current Resource: 1.5M oz AuEq Indicated and 0.4M oz AuEq Inferred (as of late 2025 updates). - Location: Nevada, USA (pro-mining jurisdiction). - Infrastructure: Excellent, including on-site substation and paved access.