Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published its Decision Record, Finding of No Significant Impact, and approval of the company's Exploration Plan of Operations for the Santa Fe Mine project. This concludes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessment process and authorizes Lahontan to advance a significantly expanded drilling and development program.
The approved plan 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. High-priority targets include the Pinnacles area and Guzzler zone. This approval marks a key milestone for Lahontan, as it allows the company to test areas that have never been drilled, potentially expanding the resource base at the historic Santa Fe Mine.
The Santa Fe Mine project, located in the Walker Lane of mining-friendly Nevada, had past production of 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995 from open pit mines utilizing heap-leach processing. Currently, the project hosts a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,539,000 oz Au Eq (48,393,000 tonnes grading 0.92 g/t Au and 7.18 g/t Ag, together grading 0.99 g/t Au Eq) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 411,000 oz Au Eq (16,760,000 tonnes grading 0.74 g/t Au and 3.25 g/t Ag, together grading 0.76 g/t Au Eq), all pit constrained. 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 BLM approval is significant because it de-risks the exploration program and allows Lahontan to systematically test multiple targets across a large area. The company's CEO stated that this expanded exploration plan will enable the company to unlock the full potential of the Santa Fe Mine property. Investors should note that the approval follows a rigorous environmental review and demonstrates the project's support from federal regulators.
For more information, visit the company's newsroom at http://ibn.fm/LGCXF and the full press release at https://ibn.fm/VWtxI.
