Lahontan Gold Corp. to Drill Historic Heap Leach Pads at Santa Fe Project for Potential Low-Cost Reprocessing

Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) announced it will soon commence sonic core drilling of historic heap leach pads at its Santa Fe Gold Mine Project in Nevada's Walker Lane, with permits expected shortly and mobilization of a Boart Longyear LS 450 rig to follow. The program will include 95 holes totaling 1,740 meters to evaluate potential gold and silver resources from pads that previously supported production of approximately 359,000 ounces of gold and 700,000 ounces of silver, with the company highlighting the potential for low-cost reprocessing to enhance project economics and support its strategy to expand resources, cash flow and long-term production.

The Santa Fe Mine project, which had past production between 1988 and 1995 from open pit mines utilizing heap-leach processing, represents a significant opportunity for resource recovery. According to the company's technical disclosure, the Santa Fe Mine has 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 technical content of the news release was 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 more detailed technical information, the full press release provides comprehensive data.

This drilling initiative is particularly important because it targets residual materials from previous mining operations that could be economically reprocessed using modern techniques. The historic heap leach pads contain materials that were processed during the initial production phase but may still hold recoverable gold and silver. By evaluating these resources, Lahontan aims to potentially add to the project's overall resource base without the high costs typically associated with new exploration and development. The company's approach aligns with industry trends toward maximizing value from existing assets and reducing environmental footprints through reprocessing of historical mining materials.

The implications of this announcement extend beyond immediate resource evaluation. Successful results from the drilling program could significantly improve the project's economics by identifying additional resources that can be processed at lower costs compared to conventional mining. This could enhance the project's viability and potentially accelerate development timelines. Furthermore, 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 technical details, including mineral resource estimates and assumptions, are documented in the Preliminary Economic Assessment, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Santa Fe Project, which is available on the company's website and SEDAR+.

For investors and stakeholders, this development represents a strategic move to leverage existing infrastructure and historical data to potentially unlock additional value. The focus on heap leach pad drilling demonstrates a practical approach to resource expansion that could provide near-term benefits if the evaluation confirms economic potential. The company's emphasis on low-cost reprocessing as part of its strategy to expand resources, cash flow and long-term production highlights the importance of operational efficiency in today's mining industry. This announcement matters because it showcases how mining companies can revisit historical operations with modern technology to extract additional value, potentially creating more sustainable and economically viable projects in established mining districts like Nevada's Walker Lane.