Disseminated on behalf of Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) and may include paid advertising.
- A newly mobilized core rig at Santa Fe is collecting geochemical and groundwater data central to Nevada mine permitting and pit design.
- New Slab-area results include a thick oxide intercept (68.6m at 0.45 g/t Au Eq, including 16.8m at 0.81 g/t Au Eq) extending mineralization beyond the current conceptual pit shell.
- The Santa Fe Mine project combines past production (359,202 oz Au; 702,067 oz Ag) with a 43-101 mineral resource base and an active pathway targeting a return to production in 2027.
In gold mining, the biggest risks are often not geological. They’re procedural. Permitting, baseline studies, metallurgy, and hydrogeology can determine whether an asset advances from “resource” to “project,” even in jurisdictions with established mining infrastructure. That reality is why the most credible development stories tend to show progress on two tracks at once: improving the technical picture while steadily checking the regulatory boxes required to build.
Lahontan Gold (TSX-V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) is trying to do exactly that at its Santa Fe Mine Project in Nevada’s Walker Lane, pairing mine-permitting work early in 2026 with additional drilling results that continue to outline shallow oxide mineralization at the Slab area.
A Permitting-Step That Looks Like Real Work
On January 26, 2026, the company announced it mobilized a Super 90 track-mounted core drill rig to the Santa Fe Mine Project as part of its mine development program. The goal of this drilling is not resource expansion in the traditional sense. Instead, the program is designed to collect core samples for waste-rock geochemical characterization, a key input into state-level mine permitting, while also improving the company’s understanding of groundwater distribution in proposed open-pit areas.
Those two datasets matter. Waste-rock characterization helps inform how material will be managed and permitted. Hydrologic data influences pit design, dewatering planning, and environmental baselines. In other words, the rig is being used to support the steps that move a project closer to a build decision rather than simply producing headline intercepts.
Management has framed the timing as deliberate. With drilling mobilized early in 2026, the company expects to generate the hydrologic and geochemical information needed to keep Santa Fe on track for breaking ground in 2027.
The Santa Fe Baseline: Past Producer, Defined Resource, District Footprint
Santa Fe is not an early-stage conceptual target. It is a past-producing open-pit, heap-leach operation that produced 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver from 1988 to 1995. The property is also described as a district-scale land position, with the project footprint shown at roughly 28.3 km² in the company’s materials, hosting multiple deposits within the broader Santa Fe system.
The project’s current mineral resource base, reported under Canadian National Instrument 43-101, includes an indicated resource of 1.539 million ounces Au Eq (48.393 million tonnes grading 0.92 g/t Au and 7.18 g/t Ag, or 0.99 g/t Au Eq) and an inferred resource of 411,000 ounces Au Eq (16.760 million tonnes grading 0.74 g/t Au and 3.25 g/t Ag, or 0.76 g/t Au Eq), all pit constrained.
From a development standpoint, the company has also emphasized infrastructure and practicality: year-round access, on-site power infrastructure (including a substation), and water wells are highlighted as existing advantages typically valued in permitting and construction timelines.
Slab Drilling Adds Context to the 2026 Work Plan
One day after the mobilization update, Lahontan released additional assay results from two reverse-circulation drill holes completed during its 2025 Phase Two program in the south Slab pit area. The headline interval came from hole CAL25-011R: 68.6 metres grading 0.45 g/t Au Eq (from 45.7m to 114.3m), including 16.8 metres grading 0.81 g/t Au Eq (65.5m to 82.3m). The company described this as a shallow, thick intercept of oxide gold mineralization below the current mineral resource pit shell, expanding the oxide footprint when paired with earlier drilling.
A second hole, CAL25-012R, returned 41.2 metres grading 0.32 g/t Au Eq (32.0m to 73.2m), interpreted as correlating with structurally controlled mineralization and extending oxide gold to the southwest and below the current pit shell.
The practical importance here is not just grade; it’s geometry. If mineralization continues outside and beneath the current conceptual shell, it can influence future pit outlines and the next iteration of the resource model. The company stated it intends to incorporate these holes into an updated mineral resource estimate for Slab and for the broader Santa Fe project, with an updated MRE expected in the coming months, followed by an updated preliminary economic assessment alongside updated metallurgy and updated metal-price assumptions.
Development Economics: Sensitivity Matters, So Does Execution
Santa Fe’s prior economic work has been presented as a relatively straightforward heap-leach development concept, with a mine plan and cost structure intended to support an 8-year project at 12,500 tonnes per day. The company’s presentation also highlights the sensitivity of project economics to gold and silver prices, with higher price assumptions producing materially different NPV and IRR outcomes using the same underlying mine plan parameters.
But in practice, the near-term value driver is execution sequence: permitting data collection, resource updates, metallurgy work, and mine plan refinement. The January updates suggest Lahontan is trying to keep those workstreams moving in parallel, rather than treating permitting as an afterthought once drilling is complete.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LahontanGoldCorp.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LGCXF are available in the company’s newsroom at ibn.fm/LGCXF
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