Lahontan Provides Santa Fe Mine Development and Exploration Update
Lahontan’s Santa Fe project faces challenges from low-grade oxide resources and a going-concern warning that test faith in its 2027 production timeline.
Lahontan Gold Corp. (LG) released a comprehensive project-level update on June 30 regarding the Santa Fe Mine. Permitting activities, including waste-rock geochemistry and groundwater modeling, are ongoing. The company expects an updated Mineral Resource Estimate within weeks and a revised Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) by the end of August 2026.
Drilling progress to date totals 87 holes for 7,751 meters in 2026. The release reiterates the "Slab West" discovery, first disclosed on June 9, which includes notable intercepts of 35 meters at 0.34 grams per tonne gold equivalent and 61 meters at 0.26 grams per tonne gold equivalent. The discovery remains open in all directions.
A sonic-drilling program evaluating residual gold and silver in historic heap-leach pads is underway, with 54 holes completed on Pads 1 and 2. Groundwater monitoring holes have not hit the water table, and no acid-rock drainage has appeared from 27.2 million tonnes of 40-year-old waste rock.
Shareholders approved a new RSU/DSU plan allowing the issuance of up to 42.8 million shares for personnel retention.
Lahontan Gold Corp. (LG) released an operational progress report that confirms existing activities without introducing new financial or resource-altering information. The company reiterated timelines for its Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), noting that these schedules have not been accelerated.
The Slab West discovery, initially announced three weeks prior, was repackaged in the update, adding no incremental data. Current drilling on the heap-leach pad remains in the early stages, with no head-grade or recovery statements provided. Additionally, the RSU/DSU plan introduces dilution risk, a factor considered routine for a junior explorer.
Because the market was already aware of key developments, including the Slab West discovery, ongoing permitting efforts, and the upcoming MRE and PEA, the update carries limited market-moving power. The release does not effect any change to the company’s valuation, cash position, or resource base.
Lahontan Gold Corp. is a Nevada-focused gold-silver explorer and developer. Its 100%-owned flagship Santa Fe Mine Project, located on the Walker Lane, is a past producer that yielded 359 koz Au and 702 koz Ag between 1988 and 1995. The project features existing infrastructure and a 28.3 km² land package.
The current NI 43-101 pit-constrained resource contains 1.539 Moz Au Eq indicated (48.4 Mt @ 0.92 g/t Au, 7.18 g/t Ag) and 411 koz Au Eq inferred. A December 2024 preliminary economic assessment (PEA), using a US$1,950/oz gold price, projected an after-tax net present value (NPV) of US$472 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 66.6%, based on US$135 million in initial capital expenditure. The project has an estimated mine life of eight years at a throughput of 12,500 tonnes per day.
Satellite targets include West Santa Fe, located 13 km away, as well as York, Slab, Calvada, and historic heap-leach pads. The company aims to restart production in 2027.