Lahontan Gold drills 91 metres of 0.43 g/t Au Oxide at Calvada, discovers new gold zone at Slab West, Nevada
Lahontan Gold Corp. [TSXV: LG; OTCQB: LGCXF; FSE: Y2F] reported the first drill results from its 2026 drilling program at the Santa Fe Mine Project, Nevada. The drill results reported cover four diamond core drill holes totalling 953 metres that were designed to acquire geotechnical data related to mine permitting that nonetheless intercepted significant gold mineralization. Five additional reverse-circulation (RC) drill holes, totalling 1,530 metres, have discovered a previously unrecognized zone of gold mineralization located west of the Slab open pit (Slab West) that remains open in all directions. Significant results are summarized below:
Calvada: Drill hole CAL26-02C, originally designed to gather geotechnical data for mine permitting, cut 90.8 metres (194.2–285.0 m) grading 0.44 g/t AuEq oxide near the bottom and below the current resource pit shell. This includes a 12.3-metre interval (212.4-223.7 m) of high-grade material: 1.22 g/t AuEq.
Slab West: Multiple drill holes have discovered a new, previously unrecognized zone of gold mineralization west of the Slab resource and open pit. Gold mineralization was intercepted in four out of five drill holes including 35.0 metres grading 0.34 g/t AuEq (CAL26-03R; 164.6–199.6 m) and 61.0 metres grading 0.26 g/t Au Eq (CAL26-01R; 184.4–245.4 m). The Slab West discovery is unconstrained up and down dip plus along strike and has the potential to host significant new gold resources at the Santa Fe Mine Project.
Kimberly Ann, Founder, Chair, CEO, and President of Lahontan Gold, commented: “The discovery of the gold zone at Slab West is an exciting development for the Santa Fe Mine Project. Since Lahontan acquired Santa Fe, all our drilling was focused on resource expansion and definition in order to demonstrate sufficient gold and silver resources to justify a production decision. The current RC drilling program is the first true exploration drilling we have done at Santa Fe and the results are already significant. The Slab West area has a large footprint, good grade, and continuity. Drilling crews are already following up on these early results.”
Kimberly Ann continued: “The Geotechnical drilling program is a crucial part of the mine permitting process: Collecting samples of wall or waste rock for geochemical characterization and searching for evidence of ground water around and below the proposed open pits. The program has been successful from a technical standpoint, no significant ground water was encountered, however, by carefully selecting the orientation of the drill holes, we can cut across known zones of gold mineralization and further validate the gold and silver resource at Santa Fe. The intercept at Calvada was particularly important as it confirmed thick oxide gold mineralization below the deepest part of the Calvada open pit and gives us further confidence as we head towards mine construction in 2027.”
Lahontan Gold is a Nevada-focused mine development company advancing a portfolio of four gold and silver projects in mining-friendly Nevada’s prolific Walker Lane. The company’s primary focus is the restart of its flagship, the 28.3 km² Santa Fe Mine project, with a targeted return to production in 2027.
Santa Fe historic production: 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver, open pit mining with heap-leach processing (1988-1995; Nevada Bureau of Mines).
Current Resources: The Santa Fe Mine has a NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,539,000 oz AuEq (48,393,000 tonnes grading 0.92 g/t Au and 7.18 g/t Ag, together grading 0.99 g/t AuEq) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 411,000 oz AuEq (16,760,000 grading 0.74 g/t Au and 3.25 g/t Ag, together grading 0.76 g/t AuEq), all pit constrained (AuEq is inclusive of recovery).
Objectives 2026: Complete an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Santa Fe Mine, advance mine permitting activities with the objective of commencing construction in 2027, continue drill testing the satellite West Santa Fe project, with a maiden resource estimate targeted by year-end, conduct exploration drilling at Santa Fe focused on expanding known gold and silver mineralization and drill test historic heap-leach pads to evaluate residual gold and silver mineralization for potential future reprocessing opportunities.
Resource World Magazine Inc. has prepared this editorial for general information purposes only and should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell securities in the companies discussed herein. The information provided has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed. This editorial does not take into account the readers investment criteria, investment expertise, financial condition, or financial goals of individual recipients and other concerns such as jurisdictional and/or legal restrictions that may exist for certain persons. Recipients should rely on their own due diligence and seek their own professional advice before investing.