Lahontan Mobilizes Second Drill Rig to Santa Fe

The most recent news (March 03, 2026) announces the mobilization of a second drill rig—a track-mounted reverse-circulation (RC) rig—to the flagship Santa Fe Mine project in Nevada. This rig joins an existing diamond drill rig. The primary objective is to execute a massive 700-hole program targeting under-explored areas of the project. This follows a string of positive high-grade oxide gold results from the satellite West Santa Fe project (e.g., 37m of 3.11 g/t Au Eq) and the York/Slab deposits. Management reiterated its aggressive timeline to resume gold and silver production at Santa Fe by 2027.

The news is Routine - Positive. While the scale of the 700-hole program is ambitious, the mobilization of a second rig is an incremental operational step to fulfill the "Exploration Plan of Operations" (EPOO) approved by the BLM in November 2025. - Operational Efficiency: Doubling the rig count accelerates the data collection required for the updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) expected in H1 2026. - De-risking: The focus on "under-explored" areas suggests a shift from mere resource confirmation to aggressive resource growth, which is necessary to support the 2027 production goal. - Expectation Alignment: This move is consistent with the company's "all hands on deck" strategy signaled in late 2025. It does not change the fundamental thesis but confirms management is executing on its stated timeline.

Lahontan Gold Corp. is focused on the Walker Lane mineral belt in Nevada. Its flagship is the Santa Fe Mine, a past-producing open-pit heap leach operation (1988–1995). - Current Resource: 1.54M oz Au Eq (Indicated) and 0.41M oz Au Eq (Inferred). - Strategy: Rapidly expand oxide resources at Santa Fe and the nearby West Santa Fe (13km away) to create a "hub-and-spoke" production model centered on a new processing facility at Santa Fe.