Sep 26 2017
Metallic Minerals Corp. is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 100% interest in mining rights (the "Property") consisting of 10 claims totaling 1 mile (1.6 km) along a bench of Dominion Creek, a tributary to the Indian River, in the Klondike gold district near Dawson City, Yukon.
Metallic has also entered into a production royalty agreement with respect to these claims under which the Company has granted exclusive mining rights to an experienced alluvial mining operator in exchange for a 15% royalty on all gold production. The property is road accessible and permitted for alluvial gold production. Mining equipment has been mobilized to site in order to conduct test work during the remainder of the 2017 northern field season.
Dominion Creek is part of the historic Klondike gold district that is estimated to have produced over 20 million ounces of gold since its discovery in 1898. Approximately 2.7 million ounces have been produced on Dominion Creek by hand mining, dredging and, more recently, modern mechanized mining that continues today with numerous large scale open pit operations. The main channel of Dominion Creek was mined by floating dredges by Yukon Consolidated Gold Company (YCGC), which operated in the Klondike Region between 1920s and 1960s. YCGC also conducted exploration churn drilling along the benches of Dominion Creek, but never mined the benches in this area1. Auger drill holes on these claims have returned values in the gravels similar to other parts of the Dominion Creek, confirming the presence of alluvial gold on the property.
Greg Johnson, CEO and Chairman of Metallic Minerals, noted, "We are very pleased to have acquired these additional claims in the Klondike gold district and to have entered into our second production royalty agreement this year. Like our first acquisition and royalty at Australia Creek which we announced earlier this month, test work on the Dominion property is anticipated to commence in late September and continue through the remainder of the 2017 northern field season. The alluvial mining operator is expected to make a decision regarding full-scale production, with respect to these Dominion claims, in early 2018. Metallic is currently in discussions with potential operators for production royalties agreements on additional blocks from the Company’s large Australia Creek land package.”
1Yukon Geological Survey (“YGS”) Yukon Placer Mining Industry Report 2010-2014
The Dominion Creek acquisition and royalty adds to Metallic Minerals’ Klondike gold district holdings, which includes another 26 miles of creek & bench mining rights along the Australia Creek drainage, a major eastern tributary to the Indian River (see figure 1). Metallic previously entered into a production royalty agreement with an experienced alluvial mining operator with respect to a 2 mile portion of lower Australia Creek for a 12% royalty on all gold production. The Company is exploring the potential for additional royalty arrangements on the remaining 24 miles of Australia Creek. Australia Creek and its benches are now recognized by Yukon Geological Survey as an eastern continuation of the highly-productive Indian River drainage, which produces nearly 50% of all placer gold in the Yukon1.
Metallic is purchasing a 100% interest in the Dominion Creek claims with no underlying royalties for an initial cash payment of $35,000 and a final cash payment of $45,000 on December 31st 2017.
Source: https://www.metallic-minerals.com/