Lahontan has recently shifted through the Victoria sale. What is your current focus and vision for the company?
The sale of the Victoria block of shares to our key institutional investors solidifies our share structure with well over 50% of our shares now in solid and supportive hands. Our focus in 2025 will be to optimize the Santa Fe mine plan, expand Santa Fe oxide resources through drilling, update our PEA, and complete a Phase One drilling campaign at our satellite West Santa Fe project. The overall vision for the company is to prepare the Santa Fe Mine for production. Permitting is full speed ahead and we will continue to advance the project on all fronts.
You returned some positive results last year on the Santa Fe Mine, which expanded the resource. Can you talk us through the key highlights?
Our PEA returned some amazing results: US$200M post-tax NPV5, Post-tax IRR of >34%, low capex, low cash costs: a 50,000 gold equivalent ounces per year open pit heap-leach mine in the world’s premier mining jurisdiction, Nevada.
West Santa Fe is Lahontan’s new satellite asset. What should investors know about the property?
West Santa Fe hosts a disseminated gold-silver deposit that is defined by almost 13,000m of historic drilling. All oxide, cropping out on the surface and unconstrained by drilling. We feel West Santa Fe will augment resources already established at the Santa Fe Mine and potentially provide a second satellite mine, a low-cost heap-leach operation to grow the company’s gold and silver production profile.
You operate in the very active and established mining district of Walker Lane, Nevada. Can you comment on how the region stands out as a mining jurisdiction?
Nevada, and the Walker Lane in particular, stands out as the premier mining jurisdiction in the world. Strong government support of the mining industry, straight forward permitting processes, and enthusiastic local participation in mining all make Nevada the right destination for investment in mining.
Gold prices have continued to strengthen into 2025. What do you see as the major drivers of the market as we move further into the year?
Continued uncertain global geopolitics, a new administration in Washington, and inflationary pressure all will support a rising gold price in 2025.
