Founder and CEO Impresses at the MKK
At the Munich Capital Markets Conference (MKK) last Wednesday, Kimberly Ann left a lasting impression. The founder and CEO of Lahontan Gold presented herself as a classic, full-blooded entrepreneur who wants to drive her project toward production at full speed. In doing so, she also challenged conventional industry wisdom. In her view, major producers focus too heavily on mega-projects, even though, given current high gold prices, smaller deposits could also be developed highly profitably—whether as standalone projects or by bundling multiple deposits. Lahontan has laid the groundwork for this over the past nearly 4 years and aims to demonstrate, starting next year, that this approach can generate significant revenue.
Multi-million ounces in what is likely the world’s best mining region
Lahontan Gold owns four gold and silver exploration properties in the Walker Lane in the US state of Nevada. Industry experts consider this to be one of the best—if not the best—mining regions in the world. Several factors are responsible for this: first-class geology with world-famous gold trends such as the Carlin and Cortez belts, an excellently developed infrastructure, and a stable, mining-friendly regulatory environment. Protests from local residents are highly unlikely. Although Nevada is the seventh-largest state in the US by area, it is also one of the least densely populated. Added to this is a long history of mining that has not only yielded vast quantities of gold but also extensive data sets from which today’s explorers benefit. Major producers such as Barrick Mining and Newmont concentrate a significant portion of their global production here. The dispute between the two gold giants also revolves primarily around the mines in Nevada.
Becoming a Gold Producer by 2027
Lahontan’s flagship property is the 28.3 km² Santa Fe mining project. From the late 1980s through the early 1990s, approximately 359,000 ounces of gold and 702,000 ounces of silver were produced there from open-pit mines using heap leaching. At that time, prices for the precious metal ranged between USD 300 and USD 450 per ounce. The mine currently has an indicated mineral resource of 1,539,000 ounces. Management expects that the official resource could be significantly increased soon. To this end, intensive drilling programs are planned for the current year. In addition, the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Santa Fe is to be updated.
In addition to intensive drilling, the company also plans to systematically evaluate historically mined material, such as old tailings. Especially with high gold prices, this is a potentially valuable lever and easier to bring into production. Speaking of production: the final construction permit for the first mine is expected to be in place by the end of 2026 or, at the latest, in the first quarter of 2027. Gold production is then expected to begin as early as 2027.
Potential Expanded by Millions of Ounces
Anyone wanting to get a better impression of Kimberly Ann and the entire project should watch the interview with Lyndsay Malchuk from the International Investment Forum. There, Ann emphasizes that the market still underestimates the pace of operational progress. While investors hesitate, the company continues to deliver strong drilling results from near-surface gold mineralization and simultaneously expand its land holdings. For Ann, these are deliberately laid “breadcrumbs” that, taken together, paint a picture of a significantly larger gold system.
The founder particularly highlighted the growing resource base. New drilling would expand the potential by millions of ounces—a scale that even surprised management. At the same time, Lahontan is aggressively advancing development, particularly in the newly acquired West Santa Fe area, which is set to develop into a strategic satellite deposit to the core project. A few weeks ago, exceptionally strong metallurgical results from the 2025 RC drilling program were announced for West Santa Fe. According to these results, cyanide leaching tests recovered an average of 81% of the gold and 60% of the silver. These figures exceed the results of previous test series. Furthermore, the results confirm that the mineralization is ideally suited for cost-effective heap-leach processing. Overall, the chances are increasing that West Santa Fe will contribute to a massive increase in the resource this year.
New Drilling Program for Rapid Production
At the same time, attention is turning to additional potential sources such as historic tailings and residual materials. To this end, Lahontan plans to launch a drilling program on historic heap-leach tailings shortly. Given the many years of historical production extending into the 1990s, it is likely that significant residual grades remain in the tailings. To confirm this, 95 drill holes are planned. The economic viability is particularly attractive. The material is already crushed and stockpiled, so no costly overburden removal is required.
Overall, Lahontan Gold is well on its way to becoming a profitable mid-sized gold and silver producer in Nevada. In this context, the current market capitalization of around CAD 159 million may appear modest, particularly given the potential for further resource growth in the coming months. The company is likely to head to Wall Street with a very different valuation.
Conflict of interest
Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “Relevant Persons”) may hold shares or other financial instruments of the aforementioned companies in the future or may bet on rising or falling prices and thus a conflict of interest may arise in the future. The Relevant Persons reserve the right to buy or sell shares or other financial instruments of the Company at any time (hereinafter each a “Transaction”). Transactions may, under certain circumstances, influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the Company.
In addition, Apaton Finance GmbH is active in the context of the preparation and publication of the reporting in paid contractual relationships.
For this reason, there is a concrete conflict of interest.
The above information on existing conflicts of interest applies to all types and forms of publication used by Apaton Finance GmbH for publications on companies.
Risk notice
Apaton Finance GmbH offers editors, agencies and companies the opportunity to publish commentaries, interviews, summaries, news and the like on news.financial. These contents are exclusively for the information of the readers and do not represent any call to action or recommendations, neither explicitly nor implicitly they are to be understood as an assurance of possible price developments. The contents do not replace individual expert investment advice and do not constitute an offer to sell the discussed share(s) or other financial instruments, nor an invitation to buy or sell such.
The content is expressly not a financial analysis, but a journalistic or advertising text. Readers or users who make investment decisions or carry out transactions on the basis of the information provided here do so entirely at their own risk. No contractual relationship is established between Apaton Finance GmbH and its readers or the users of its offers, as our information only refers to the company and not to the investment decision of the reader or user.
The acquisition of financial instruments involves high risks, which can lead to the total loss of the invested capital. The information published by Apaton Finance GmbH and its authors is based on careful research. Nevertheless, no liability is assumed for financial losses or a content-related guarantee for the topicality, correctness, appropriateness and completeness of the content provided here. Please also note our Terms of use.
Stockhouse does not provide investment advice or recommendations. All investment decisions should be made based on your own research and consultation with a registered investment professional. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
