Lahontan Gold (TSX-V:LG) has provided more results from its 2026 core drilling program at the Santa Fe Mine Project in Nevada, US, as it advances towards a restart.
The latest results cover 10 drill holes on the mine’s heap leach pad two, totalling 168.9m.
Lahontan says that nearly every drill interval contains ‘meaningful’ gold and silver mineralisation, adding that this was not unexpected given that the program is evaluating a historic heap leach pad.
An intercept of 16.5m grading 2.72 grams per tonne gold (Au) and 2.8g/t silver (Ag) was highlighted.
According to Lahontan, this heap leach pad was used by Corona Gold to process run-of-mine material from the Santa Fe open pit during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Historical production records show that 3.76 million tonnes of rock grading 0.55g/t Au and 2.9g/t Ag, or 0.58g/t gold equivalent (AuEq), was loaded on the pad.
Based on the reported recoveries (47% Au, 13% Ag), the expected residual grade would average about 0.29g/t Au and 2.5g/t Ag (0.32g/t AuEq).
Incorporating the latest 10 holes, the company says the weighted average grade of all samples to date is 0.50g/t Au and 3.3g/t Ag (0.54g/t AuEq).
“The drill holes confirm the presence of significant residual gold and silver mineralisation in [heap leach pad two],” says Lahontan Gold Founder and CEO Kimberly Ann.
Ann adds that further drill results will be needed before a mineral resource can be calculated to incorporate these results.
Historic gold-silver mine
Located in Nevada’s Walker Lane, Santa Fe hosts a former open-pit, heap-leach gold and silver mine that produced 359,202 ounces of Au and 702,067 ounces of Ag between 1988 and 1995.
Lahontan acquired the project in 2020. It has since assembled a land package consisting of multiple pits and heap leach pads and advanced exploration.
The company recently updated the Santa Fe resource estimate, now showing 1.195 million ounces (Moz) AuEq in the indicated category and a further 1.190Moz in the inferred category. This represents a 22% increase over the 2024 MRE.
To reboot the mine operation, Lahontan plans to follow a phased development strategy, initially targeting shallow oxide material before potentially incorporating the project’s larger sulphide resource.
Permitting is underway for the Phase One development, with the company targeting construction in 2027.
Lahontan Gold is a Nevada-focused mine development company advancing a portfolio of four gold and silver projects in the Walker Lane.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Main Image: Lahontan Gold
