The Skukum Gold Project is located in southern Yukon, Canada, approximately 55 km south of the Territory’s capital city, Whitehorse (Figure 1). The 170.3 km2 property consists of 1,051 full or fractional Quartz Mining claims that encompass the Skukum Creek gold-silver deposit, the Goddell gold deposit, and the past-producing Mt. Skukum gold mine.

Figure 1. Location of the Skukum Gold Project.

Production was undertaken at Mt. Skukum between February 1986 and August 1988. During that time, a total of 233,400 tons of mineralized material were processed in the plant and 2,481 kg (77,750 troy oz) of gold recovered.

The Skukum Property is situated on the boundary between the Jurassic andesites and siliciclastic rocks of the Stikine Terrane and Paleozoic gneisses of the Nisling Terrane. This rock unit package is intruded by the late Triassic to Jurassic Bennett Granite and Cretaceous intrusions of the Coast Plutonic Complex. The geology map of the project can be seen in Figure 2.

The three identified deposit types that occur on the Skukum Gold Project are typically structurally controlled gold ± silver ± base metal bearing veins or vein breccias.

Figure 2. Geology map of the Skukum Property.

The Mt. Skukum deposit is a structurally controlled epithermal gold deposit hosted in Eocene volcanics. Low temperature auriferous quartz-calcite-adularia veins occur along brittle fractures and faults with little shearing and appear to be formed at shallow levels.

The Skukum Creek deposit is a structurally controlled, polymetallic gold-silver, deep epithermal vein deposit hosted in Mid-Cretaceous Mt. McNeil granodiorite. In the Skukum Creek area, zones of mineralization are hosted primarily by a series of linked, northeast-trending faults that may represent splays off the Berney Creek fault system.

The Goddell deposit is a structurally controlled shear-hosted gold deposit. Mineralization is associated with altered felsic dykes within the shear zone. The shear zone is located within Mid-Cretaceous Carbon Hill granodiorites.

After drilling 18,645 meters in 2020 and 2021, an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Skukum Property was published, with an effective date of October 28, 2022, shown in Table 1. At a cut-off of 2.0 g/t AuEq, the total Skukum Gold Project Mineral Resource Estimate consists of 1,594 kt grading 6.79 g/t Au and 114.5 g/t Ag, or 8.16 g/t AuEq in the Indicated category and 3,016 kt grading 4.64 g/t Au, 58.1 g/t Ag, or 5.33 g/t AuEq in the Inferred category. Contained metal contents are 348 koz Au and 5,868 koz Ag, or 418 koz AuEq in the Indicated category and 449 koz Au and 5,631 koz Ag, or 517 koz AuEq in the Inferred category.

Table 1. Skukum project total mineral resources (using a 2.0 g/t AuEq cut-off)

Notes:

1. CIM Definition standards (2014) were used for reporting the Mineral Resources.
2. Mineral Resource Estimate prepared by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. with an effective date of October 28, 2022.
3. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. An Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality is estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.
4. A base case cut-off of 2.0 g/t AuEq was calculated at a gold price of $US1,800/oz, silver price of US$23/oz and a metal recovery of 95% for gold and 93% for silver, which is believed to provide a reasonable margin over operating and sustaining costs for narrow vein mining and processing.
5. Mineral Resources are diluted to an approximate minimum width of 1.5 m.
6. Totals may not sum due to rounding.