Yukon busy at ex-producer in Slocan mining district

Exploration of the old underground workings at Yukon Minerals’ (ASE) Senator gold/silver claims near Slocan, B.C. is scheduled to begin almost immediately, the company said recently.

Located 8 km south of Northair Mines’ (VSE) Willa project the Senator claims are part of Yukon Minerals’ Payday property which has been mined intermittently this century.

According to available records, high grade gold and silver was mined via an underground operation on three separate occasions since 1896. The records says that in 1901, 22 tons of ore grading 0.64 oz gold and 63.8 oz silver per ton was produced and much later in 1955 three tons of average 1 oz gold and 132.6 oz silver was also extracted.

After sampling the various underground workings this year, Yukon Minerals has been able to release some encouraging results. They include a 17.8 cm intersection from the first level chute which averaged 0.322 oz gold and 48.58 oz silver.

A 25 cm intersection taken from a first level stope averaged 0.4 oz gold and 31.41 oz silver. Results from sampling on the second level were also notable. In stope No 1 on level two, Yukon pulled a 30.5 cm section which averaged 0.294 oz gold and 47.35 oz silver.

Yukon says it hasn’t yet begun to correlate the vein structures in the underground workings with the strike lengths of surface veins. As a result, future work will include surface prospecting, geochemical and geophysical surveys and detailed geological and structural mapping. An underground sampling program has also been recommended, Yukon says.

Exploration will be undertaken in conjunction with a drilling program planned for the Payday property early this fall. To underline its confidence in Payday, Yukon Minerals recently acquired a 75% interest in the contiguous Deadwood claims.