Yukon juniors Rackla, White Gold, Strategic Metals vie for investor support

Dawson City, Yukon – This is the final article on companies active in the Yukon following a week of site visits and interviews last month. There were pieces on Granite Creek Copper (TSX-V: GCX; US-OTC: GCXXF) and investor darling Snowline Gold (TSXV: SGD; US-OTC: SNWGF), as well as a wrap on juniors Fireweed Metals (TSXV: FWZ; US-OTC: FWEDF), Cascadia Minerals (TSXV: CAM), Nickel Creek Platinum (TSX: NCP; US-OTC: NCPCF) and Onyx Gold (TSXV: ONYX).

They followed site visit reports and videos on Metallic Minerals (TSXV: MMG), Sitka Gold (CSE: SIG), Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX) and Banyan Gold (TSXV: BYN; US-OTC: BYAGF), and Western Copper and Gold (TSX: WRN; NYSE-AM: WRN). There was even a podcast.

Takeaways from the week included Snowline’s high grades trumping concerns over being remote from roads and power, and a sentiment that other juniors with early-stage projects may be undervalued despite strong resource estimates and drill results. In addition, the Tombstone gold belt has become an exploration destination, with the only current hard rock gold mines there being Kinross Gold’s (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) Fort Knox in Alaska and Victoria’s Eagle mine in the Yukon.

Along with The Northern Miner, all of the above companies (except Kinross) and the three below attended a conference on July 19 in Dawson City, the rustic epicentre of the Klondike gold rush 125 years ago.

 

We return to the far east of the Tombstone gold belt on the Yukon border with the Northwest Territories where Rackla Metals (TSXV: RAK) is midway through its first drill program on the Astro project this year. It’s planning 3,000 metres to hit reduced intrusion-related mineralization, said Scott Casselman, vice-president of exploration.

“If we could get hundreds of metres at 0.6.-0.7 gram (per tonne), there is the potential to develop something sizable,” Casselman said. “I would love to have the grades of Snowline, but they’re super-anomalous to have something like that concentration.”

Just this month, Snowline Gold posted the highest drill result grades on the belt: 2.5 grams gold per tonne over 553.8 metres from surface including 5 grams over 132 metres from 6 metres downhole. Astro is about 70 km from Snowline’s Valley deposit.

Rackla optioned the Astro property last year from Orogen Royalties (TSXV: OGN), which used to be called Evrim Resources and worked on it in a joint venture with Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) in the 2017-19 period. The JV sought Carlin-style sedimentary rock deposits in a limited 1,100 metres of reverse-circulation drilling across 11 holes. One hole cut 7.6 metres grading 0.7 gram gold per tonne.

Like Snowline and other remote projects, Astro lacks road and power connections although it is at the end of the Second World War-constructed Canol Road, a rough-hewn gravel route suitable for trucks that the territorial government has shown interest in upgrading. But the project is still 20,000 to 30,000 metres from a resource estimate and further still to a preliminary economic assessment, Casselman says.

 

White Gold (TSXV: WGO; US-OTC: WHGOF), backed by Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM, NYSE: AEM) holding 20% and Kinross Gold (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC) at 16%, is drilling more on its Betty Ford target to enhance the appeal of its property near Newmont’s Coffee and Western Copper and Gold’s (TSX: WRN; NYSE-AM: WRN) Casino projects 95 km south of Dawson.

“That’s the same structure that’s allowed for the mineralization and holds the gold deposits at Coffee,” exploration manager Cam Norton said. “So we’re trying to bring on a lot of ounces quickly and cheaper on a cost-per-ounce basis.”

The plan is to set aside the separate White property targets of Ryan’s Surprise, Golden Saddle, Arc and VG for now to see what Newmont does with Coffee as it approaches a production decision, Norton said. Betty Ford lies about 20 km southwest of the White property, abutting Casino.

The White property holds 16.1 million indicated tonnes grading 2.2 grams gold per tonne for 1.2 million oz. of gold, according to a resource update released in June. It shows 19 million inferred tonnes of at 1.5 grams for 942,000 oz. of gold.

“We have enough resources there that we’re pretty comfortable for the time being,” Norton said. “It’s going to take a bit of consolidation of the district. You might have somebody come in and buy Coffee or they might just buy both Coffee and White at this point now you’ve got 4 million oz. at play.”

White is drilling 1,200 metres this year at Betty Ford, a third of its drilling program, focusing on extending the strike and probing the depth to perhaps add 1 million oz. in potential output, Norton said. Drill results from 2021 cut 3.5 grams over 50 metres and 1.2 grams over 48 metres, he said.

The company is also probing the Vertigo target on the nearby JP Ross property and starting drilling this month on Nolan, which is completely separate, about 70 km west of Dawson on the Top of the World Highway. A resource on Betty Ford and Vertigo could arrive by early 2025, the exploration chief said.

 

If there’s a mining project in the Yukon, it’s a good bet project generator Strategic Metals (TSXV: SMD) has been there, seen that or done something with it. CEO Doug Eaton, who worked with project consultant Archer, Cathro & Associates from 1971 until he retired as owner in 2021, knows the region inside-out. He founded Strategic in 1994.

With 96 projects and 12 royalty streams, Strategic is one of the territory’s largest claim holders. It focuses on discoveries and early-stage project development, usually before large drilling programs, Eaton said.

The company is drilling two holes this year on the Mint project, a gold-copper porphyry near the Alaska border about 26 km southwest of the Alaska Highway. The Mt. Hinton gold-silver project, 35 km southeast of VictoriaGold’s Eagle mine, returned float samples grading 273 grams gold with 284 grams silver, and 138.5 grams gold with 57.5 grams silver, the company reported in January.

Strategic holds 30% of Rockhaven Resources, which is working on a pre-feasibility study this year on the Klaza gold project. It is 50 km west of Carmacks, a village on the Alaska Highway 175 km north of Whitehorse. The project has 4.5 million indicated tonnes grading 4.8 grams gold, 98 grams silver, 0.7% lead, and 0.9% zinc, according to a 2020 preliminary economic assessment. Contained metal is 686,000 oz. gold, 14 million oz. silver, 73 million lb. lead and 92 million lb. zinc.

The company also holds nearly a third in Broden Mining, which is working with the Ross River Dena Council to further explore land 360 km northeast of Whitehorse by road. The property has a historical resource estimate of 5.4 million lb. zinc, 3.5 million lb. lead, 111 million oz. silver and 870,000 oz. gold.

Strategic has the Alotta gold-copper-molybdenum porphyry property 40 km south of Western Copper and Gold’s Casino project. Alotta is under an option agreement with Benjamin Hill Mining (CSE: BNN; US-OTC: BNNHF), which may acquire up to 60% if it pays $500,000 by Jan. 17, 2028 and spends $11 million in exploring the property by the end of 2027.

While Strategic’s claims are predominantly in the Yukon (with a few in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories) the company owns 12% in Colorado-based Terra CO2, maker of a low-carbon alternative to cement, which is backed by the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO).

Sometimes Strategic helps companies with initial public offerings. It owns stock valued at about $35.5 million, holds some $3 million in cash and rarely finances projects by selling shares in Strategic.

If a site seems worthy of drilling, Strategic creates a new company for the project and distributes to Strategic shareholders most of the new company’s shares which are bound to increase in value, Eaton said.

“It’s not a bad way to give your shareholders a kiss,” the CEO said.