Lahontan Gold Corp. has returned initial results from its 2026 Sonic core drilling program at the Santa Fe Mine Project, intersecting meaningful gold and silver mineralization across ten drill holes on Heap Leach Pad Two.

The ten vertical holes total 168.9 metres and evaluate material loaded onto the pad during the late 1980s and early 1990s by Corona Gold, which processed run-of-mine rock from the Santa Fe open pit. The weighted average grade of all samples to date across the ten completed holes is 0.50 grams per tonne gold and 3.3 grams per tonne silver, delivering a gold equivalent grade of 0.54 grams per tonne. Cyanide leach analyses average 40% of corresponding fire assay gold values, suggesting the historic material may be amenable to conventional cyanide reprocessing.

Between 1988 and 1995, previous open-pit mining and heap-leach processing at the Santa Fe Mine project produced 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver. Lahontan is advancing the asset toward a targeted production restart in 2027.

“The results from the Sonic core drilling of HLP Two are very encouraging. The drill holes confirm the presence of significant residual gold and silver mineralization in HLP Two. Additional drill results will be needed before Mineral Resources can be calculated; however, the program is clearly off to an excellent start. There are 86 additional Sonic drill holes spread across the four historic heap leach pads, so expect additional results as assays are provided by the lab.”

— Kimberly Ann, Founder, Chair, CEO, and President of Lahontan Gold Corp

The company's 2026 objectives for Santa Fe include completing an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment incorporating sulfide resources, advancing mine permitting for 2027 construction, and continuing exploration drilling at the satellite West Santa Fe project. Additional assay results from the remaining 86 Sonic drill holes across the four historic heap leach pads at the project are expected as assays are returned from the laboratory.

Read the full announcement: Lahontan Drills 16.5m Grading 2.72 g/t Au and 2.8 g/t Ag at Santa Fe Heap Leach Pad Two