Disseminated on behalf of Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) and may include paid advertising.
- Santa Fe is a past-producing brownfield project targeting a 2027 restart, leveraging existing infrastructure to reduce capital requirements and execution risk
- Groundwater drilling did not intercept the water table beneath the proposed pits, a permitting advantage, while 40 years of undisturbed Corona-era waste rock shows no sign of acid drainage
- An updated Mineral Resource Estimate is expected and a revised PEA by the end of August, building on a 2025 study that outlined a $200 million after-tax NPV and a 34.2% IRR
As permitting timelines lengthen and development costs continue to rise, investors are placing greater value on mining projects that can reach production with fewer unknowns. Past-producing brownfield assets… are increasingly standing out as a potentially faster and lower-risk path to new gold production. Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) is a dual-listed Canadian/U.S. mine development and exploration company advancing a portfolio of gold and silver assets across Nevada’s prolific Walker Lane trend. The company’s flagship Santa Fe Mine is central to that strategy, leveraging its past-producing history and existing infrastructure to support a potential 2027 restart.
A Brownfield Restart in a Demanding Permitting Era
The 28.3 km² Santa Fe Mine is a past-producing open-pit, heap-leach operation that yielded 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995. That history is the point. The site already carries power, water, and road access, along with the geologic and metallurgical knowledge a greenfield discovery must build from scratch.
Lahontan believes those advantages translate directly into lower execution risk. Founder, Chair, and CEO Kimberly Ann frames the project plainly: “The Santa Fe Mine is a classic brownfields restart, leveraging existing infrastructure and technical knowledge allowing us to restart production at lower capital cost, on a shorter development timeline, and with a substantially lower execution risk than a comparable greenfield project.” The company remains on track to break ground in 2027.
The location reinforces that advantage. Nevada consistently ranks as the world’s leading mining jurisdiction in the Fraser Institute survey and produces more than 4.5 million ounces of gold annually, offering established infrastructure, experienced labor, and a well-defined permitting framework.
Advantages Below the Surface
Two technical results give Santa Fe an edge heading into permitting. The first involves groundwater. Lahontan drilled nine diamond core holes and two reverse-circulation holes to map the depth to groundwater beneath the proposed pits. None intercepted the water table, consistent with historic drilling. Because the proposed pits remain above the water table, the project may avoid some of the groundwater management and permitting complexities that often add time and cost to mine development.
The second is waste rock. Nevada’s permitting process also requires understanding how waste rock weathers over time and whether it could generate acidic runoff. Core samples now sit at a specialized lab, and the field evidence is favorable: 27.2 million tonnes of waste rock left by the former Corona Gold operation has sat undisturbed for more than 40 years without evidence of acid drainage. That long-term real-world performance provides encouraging evidence that waste rock management may present fewer environmental challenges than at many new mining projects.
Milestones Toward a Production Decision
The company’s development timeline is advancing on multiple fronts. An updated Mineral Resource Estimate is expected, followed by a revised Preliminary Economic Assessment by the end of August. Together, those studies will refine pit designs, heap-leach layouts, and waste-rock storage plans while supporting the Mine Plan of Operations submission to the Bureau of Land Management.
At the same time, ongoing drilling continues to expand the resource base, completing 87 holes totaling 7,751 metres in 2026, work that delivered the Slab West discovery, a previously unrecognized zone of gold mineralization that remains open up-dip, down-dip, and along strike. Key intercepts include 35.0 metres grading 0.34 g/t gold equivalent and 61.0 metres grading 0.26 g/t gold equivalent.
Reprocessing the Pads, and the Resource Base
Beyond the primary resource, Santa Fe may also contain an overlooked opportunity. Historic heap-leach recoveries from the late 1980s and early 1990s were incomplete, meaningful quantities of gold and silver could remain within the four existing leach pads.
Lahontan is drilling those pads with a sonic rig that collects large-volume samples to measure residual grade and confirm tonnage, with 54 holes completed on Pads One and Two and more scheduled.
While exploration continues to add new targets, Santa Fe already benefits from a sizeable existing resource that supports ongoing economic studies. The resource base underpins all of it. Santa Fe holds an NI 43-101 Indicated resource of 1,539,000 ounces gold equivalent and an Inferred resource of 411,000 ounces, all pit-constrained, roughly 1.95 million ounces in total.
The 2025 PEA outlined an after-tax NPV5% of $200 million, a 34.2% IRR, and average annual production near 50,000 ounces gold equivalent over an eight-year mine life.
A supportive gold market only strengthens the backdrop. While higher gold prices can improve project economics across the industry, companies like Lahontan, with a portfolio of Walker Lane assets and a dual listing that provides access to both Canadian and U.S. capital markets, may be particularly well positioned to capitalize. With an updated resource estimate, revised PEA, and permitting milestones expected in the months ahead, Lahontan appears to be entering one of the most important phases in Santa Fe’s redevelopment.
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 https://nnw.fm/LGCXF
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