Lahontan Gold Corp. Receives BLM Approval for Expanded Exploration at Santa Fe Mine
TL;DR
Lahontan Gold gains regulatory approval to expand Santa Fe Mine exploration, positioning the company to potentially increase its gold and silver resources ahead of competitors.
The approved Exploration Plan permits drilling across 12.2 km² targeting 700+ holes to test geologic anomalies, historic intercepts, and untested zones beyond current resources.
Advancing the Santa Fe Mine project creates economic opportunities through responsible mineral development while adhering to environmental assessment standards for sustainable resource extraction.
The Santa Fe Mine previously produced over 359,000 ounces of gold and now targets new discoveries across multiple high-priority zones including the Pinnacles area.
The Bureau of Land Management has approved Lahontan Gold Corp.'s Exploration Plan of Operations for the Santa Fe Mine project, concluding the NEPA Environmental Assessment process and authorizing the company to advance a significantly expanded drilling and development program. This regulatory milestone permits exploration across a 12.2 km² area with more than 700 drill holes targeting new geologic and geochemical anomalies, historic high-grade intercepts and multiple untested zones beyond the current gold and silver resources.
The approved exploration program includes high-priority targets such as the Pinnacles area and Guzzler zone, representing substantial expansion opportunities for the Santa Fe Mine project. 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. Past production at the property totaled 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995 from open pit mines utilizing heap-leach processing.
This regulatory approval represents a critical step forward for Lahontan Gold Corp.'s development timeline, enabling the company to systematically test multiple exploration targets across the extensive property. The expanded drilling program could potentially lead to significant resource growth beyond the current mineral inventory, particularly given the property's historical production record and existing infrastructure advantages. The technical content of the company's disclosure has been 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.
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. For additional technical details, the Preliminary Economic Assessment, NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Santa Fe Project is available through the company's regulatory filings. The latest news and updates relating to the company are available at https://ibn.fm/LGCXF. This regulatory clearance positions Lahontan Gold Corp. to accelerate its exploration efforts in one of Nevada's premier mining districts, potentially contributing to future mineral resource growth and project development timelines.
Curated from InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN)