This morning, Yukon Metals Corp (CSE:YMC) announced promising rock & soil sampling results from its Birch Project in the Yukon-Tanana Terrane of the Yukon Territory. Results of soils sampling on a 50 meter x 100 meter grid over the northern anomaly show encouraging gold and copper results up to 0.988 g/t gold and 2,310 ppm copper.
The anomalous zone trends roughly east-west and extends over 1,400 meters. A rock-chip sample over this zone contains 14.1 g/t gold and 4260 ppm copper within pyrite-chalcopyrite rich skarn.
Copper, zinc, and molybdenum mineralization was first identified in the area around Birch in the early 1970s as part of a small exploration campaign which uncovered several skarn horizons in the northern project area, as well as molybdenite in quartz veins and stringers in granodiorite float on the southeastern side of the property. Gold was not assayed for until interest renewed in the early 2010s with soil and mapping exploration work over the area uncovering several high soil anomalies ranging from 0.02-15g/t gold.
Skarn mineralization occurs when intrusive magmas (such as those forming a porphyry system) interact with carbonate-rich rocks, leading to the formation of calc-silicate minerals. The presence of skarn mineralization at the surface is significant because it often forms in close association with porphyry copper systems.
Molybdenum is commonly associated with porphyry copper systems, often found in the core or near-core zones of these deposits. Anomalous molybdenum in soil can therefore be a strong indicator of a porphyry system, especially in combination with copper anomalies. Whereas, zinc often occurs in the peripheral zones of porphyry systems, particularly in skarns or veins that are associated with the porphyry system.
The presence of skarn at the surface can indicate that the underlying intrusive system (which might host a porphyry deposit) is nearby. Skarns can form a "halo" around a porphyry system, meaning that the deposit itself might be located beneath or adjacent to the skarn mineralization.
At Birch, the copper and gold soil anomalies are coincident and line up nicely with skarn mineralization at surface:
The next step for Yukon Metals is to follow up on the 1,400 meters of up to 0.99 g/t gold soils results at Birch with an Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey in order to delineate bedrock structure over this large footprint.
YMC expects to release news on its summer exploration activities at the Star River Project ahead of the Beaver Creek conference next week.
Disclosure: Author has purchased YMC shares on the open market and may choose to buy or sell at any time without notice. Yukon Metals Corp. is a sponsor of Goldfinger Capital.
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