Yukon Mining Alliance Site Visit Review
I have justreturned from the annual Yukon Mining Alliance (YMA) Investment & Media Tour with a deeper understanding of the geologic historyin the westernmost of Canada's three federal territories. Each year the YMAinvites a select group of both industry professionals and resource investors ona 6-day whirlwind tour of numerous mine site camps throughout the region. Theschedule and logistics of the tour are meticulously planned by ExecutiveDirector Anne Turner, who's staff does a magnificent job of keeping thingsrunning smoothly and on-time.
This year,the YMA partnered with The Yukon Geological Survey (YGS),who provided each member of our tour with iPad's containing the entire knowngeological history of the region. While flying overhead in a 10-seat caravanprop plane, guests wereable to systematically track the geologic information with an uploaded GPS onthe iPad. The continuously updated maps include age dating and were originallydrawn up in the 1930's. After being uploaded into the YGS database in 2006, ittook the agency ten years to re-build the maps and next year they are planningto include geochemistry updates.
We were alsojoined by YGS Director Carolyn Relf and Head of Bedrock Geology, MauriceColpron, who were sharing their vast geologic and historic knowledge of theregion via linked headsets as we flew over innumerable mine sites. The YGSwebsite contains links to these detailed geological maps, which are invaluableto all the mineral exploration firms in the region and have been instrumentalin making numerous discoveries in Yukon.
Sandwichedin between the excursion is The Yukon Investment Conference, which takes placein the historic Klondike Gold Rush town of Dawson City. This year, the meetingwas attended by all seventeen YMA company members, where management and tourparticipants scheduled 1 on 1 meetings at company booths. The day's festivitiesbegan with a speech by Hon. Ranj Pillai, who is the Minister of Energy, Minesand Resources & Economic Development in Yukon. During the speech, Pillaireiterated the government's commitment to building strong, collaborative,relationships with First Nations based on respect and committing to achievereal results. He also emphasized that government continues to focus onstreamlining the environmental and mining permit process along with morespending on infrastructure through the C$360M Yukon Resource Gateway Projectand the C$10M Dawson City Airport upgrade.
One of themost impressive sites we flew over was the VictoriaGold Corp. (VIT.V), fullyfinanced and permitted Eagle Gold Project. The developer is spending roughlyC$1M per day this year building what will eventually become Yukon's largest operatinggold mine. The Eagle Gold Project is scheduled to begin commercial production inQ4 2019 and will produce 200,000 ounces of gold annually at an operation costof approximately $550 per ounce. The project is located 85km north of Mayo,whose economy has significantly benefited from the ongoing construction of themine.
I was alsotreated to a birds-eye view of the earlier stage exploration firm ATAC Resources Ltd. (ATC.V) Rackla GoldProject, which is comprised of three projects: the 100% owned Carlin-type goldOsiris Project, the 100% owned Rau Project and the Orion Project, which issubject to an earn-in agreement valued at a potential C$55 million with BarrickGold Corporation. The company recently released an NI 43-101 InferredMineral Resource on the Osiris Project of 1,685,000 oz gold at an average gradeof 4.23 g/t and has announced a fully funded 20,000M diamond drill program, including10,000M at the Carlin-type Orion Project funded by Barrick Gold Corp. under anexploration partnership.
The mosthistorically interesting mining ventures in Yukon are controlled by early stageexplorer Klondike Gold Corp. (KG.V).As we flew over the company's 2,780 contiguous claim land package, totaling 55km in the heart of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush region near Dawson City, wewitnessed miles of placer mining operations both past and present. In thesoutheast corner of the Klondike Mining District the company owns the McKinnonCreek placer mine featured on the Discovery Channel program Gold Rush. When ourplane landed in Dawson, CEO Peter Tallman greeted guests at the airport and whiskedus away on a tour of the company's Lone Star property, located just 20 minutesfrom Dawson. The Lone Star Project has been focusing on exploration at theheadwaters of Eldorado and Bonanza Creeks, where the Klondike gold was firstdiscovered in 1896 and Mr. Tallman has discovered the hard rock source at LoneStar. The Klondike District property is located 120 kilometers north ofGoldcorp's Coffee gold deposit. Work to date suggests the structural setting atCoffee is comparable to Klondike District mineralization and the company has budgeteda fully funded C$2.5M drill program this season with plans to drill 50-70 holeson three of its projects.
An early stagedevelopment story I was not very familiar with before the trip is that of Rockhaven Resources (RK.V). After beingtreated to a very detailed presentation by CEO Matt Turner on the first day ofthe tour, the Company's 100% owned and road accessible Klaza gold-silverproject looks very promising. A few days before the excursion began, Rockhavenreleased a 907,000 oz gold eq Indicated grading 4.8 g/t gold and 98 g/t silver and725,000 oz gold eq Inferred grading 2.8 g/t gold and 76 g/t silver resource onthe deposit which remains open in all directions. This season, the companyplans to continue exploration drilling of near surface mineralized zones thatparallel the mineral resources, including high-grade structures identified bythe 2017 program. However, the treasury will need to be topped up soon andafter speaking with Mr. Turner, he informed me the company is currentlyexploring financing options. Partner Coeur Mining, who contributed C$2.7M tothe 2017 finance, is expected to maintain its 9.9% position in Rockhaven.
Although theterritory is remote, with a harsh climate and little infrastructure, all 14First Nations in the region and Yukon government are pro-mining and becomingmore in sync with the mining industry. For every dollar spent on mineral exploration,85 cents of impact (GDP) is captured in Yukon and for mine site constructionevery dollar spent in Yukon results in about 55 cents in impact (GDP).
The Yukon territoryis open for business.
Full disclosure: I have purchased shares of both ATACResources and Klondike Gold in the open market last year. I have alsorecommended them to my subscribers.
By David ErfleContributing tokitco.com
Follow @KitcoNewsNOW
newsfeedback@kitco.comwww.juniorminerjunky.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.