Lahontan Gold Corp. has announced new assay results from its 2025 Phase Two reverse-circulation drilling program at the flagship Santa Fe Mine Project in Nevada's Walker Lane. The results highlight expanded oxide gold and silver mineralization at the Slab pit area beyond the current mineral resource estimate pit shell, with two additional drill holes showing 68.6 meters grading 0.45 g/t gold equivalent and 41.2 meters grading 0.32 g/t gold equivalent.
These findings extend shallow mineralization to the south, west, and at depth, which is significant for the company's development timeline. The expanded mineralization supports plans to update the mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment while advancing permitting efforts later this year. For investors and industry observers, this represents tangible progress toward potentially increasing the project's economic viability and moving closer to production decisions.
The Santa Fe Mine project already has substantial established resources, with a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,539,000 oz Au Eq and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 411,000 oz Au Eq, all pit constrained. The property has historical production of 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995 from open pit mines utilizing heap-leach processing. The technical content of the news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Lindholm, CPG, Independent Consulting Geologist to Lahontan Gold Corp., who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
For the mining industry and Nevada's economy, continued exploration success at established projects like Santa Fe demonstrates the ongoing potential of mature mining districts. The Walker Lane region of Nevada remains one of the world's most productive gold mining areas, and successful expansion of known deposits contributes to sustained mineral production and economic activity. The company plans to continue advancing the Santa Fe Mine project towards production, update the Santa Fe Preliminary Economic Assessment, and drill test its satellite West Santa Fe project during 2025.
The importance of these results extends beyond the immediate project economics. Successful expansion of mineralization at existing projects reduces exploration risk compared to greenfield discoveries and can extend mine life or improve project economics through increased scale. For the global gold market, continued successful exploration in established jurisdictions like Nevada helps maintain production levels amid declining grades at many operations worldwide. The full technical details are available in the company's press release, and additional corporate information can be found on the company's newsroom.
