Lahontan Drills High Grade Oxide Gold from the Surface at West Santa Fe: 37m Grading 3.11 g/t Au Eq Including 11m Grading 5.75 g/t Au Eq
High-grade oxide intercepts at West Santa Fe validate satellite project potential as flagship Santa Fe Mine moves toward 2027 production goal.
The most recent news (Feb 24, 2026) reports final results from the maiden drilling program at the West Santa Fe project. The standout result is hole WSF25-04R, which returned 36.6m grading 3.11 g/t Au Eq (including 11m of 5.75 g/t Au Eq) starting from the surface. This follows a string of positive results throughout February 2026 (0.83 g/t over 49m and 1.94 g/t over 41m). These results confirm a high-grade oxide core in the "South Zone" and demonstrate that mineralization is open down-dip and along strike.
The news is Material - Positive. While West Santa Fe is a satellite project 13km from the flagship Santa Fe Mine, these grades (3.11 g/t Au Eq) are significantly higher than the average resource grade at the main Santa Fe deposit (0.99 g/t Au Eq). - Resource Growth: These results validate a historical database of 171 holes and suggest West Santa Fe could provide high-grade "sweetener" feed for a future centralized processing facility. - De-risking: The mineralization is oxidized and starts at the surface, implying low strip ratios and high metallurgical recoveries, which are critical for the heap-leach model proposed in the PEA. - Execution: Management has successfully transitioned from planning (Q4 2025) to discovery/validation (Q1 2026) on schedule.
Lahontan Gold Corp. is focused on the Walker Lane trend in Nevada. Its flagship is the Santa Fe Mine, a past-producer (1988-1995). - Flagship Resource: 1.54M oz Au Eq Indicated (0.99 g/t) and 0.41M oz Au Eq Inferred (0.76 g/t). - PEA Highlights (Dec 2024): After-tax NPV5 of US$200M and IRR of 34.2% at spot prices ($2,705 Au). - Strategy: Restarting the Santa Fe Mine as an open-pit heap leach operation while expanding resources at satellite targets like West Santa Fe and Slab.