PERMITTING - Selwyn Resources Ltd. Aug. 23 reported that its 50 percent-owned joint venture, the Selwyn Project, has received an amended Mining Land Use Permit. This permit provides authorization for much of the work required for new project infrastructure for the planned advanced exploration underground program at Selwyn. This permit does not include authorization for use or discharge of water related to the planned underground program — these will be covered under a “Type B” Water License to be obtained from the Yukon Water Board. Receipt of this amended permit from Yukon Government Energy, Mines & Resources ministry, allows immediate commencement of work on new infrastructure such as upgrades to drill and access roads, expansion of camp up to 160 persons, additional fuel storage, and use of explosives. This work is necessary to support the underground development and drilling programs associated with the advancement of a bankable feasibility study for the project. This study is under the overall direction of Wardrop Engineering Inc., a TetraTech company, and is scheduled for completion by mid-2011. A C$100 million investment into Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd. will support advanced engineering and permitting activities on the project. Selwyn’s focus is the exploration and development of its 50 percent-owned Selwyn Project in eastern Yukon and Northwest Territories, which is one of the largest undeveloped resources of zinc and lead in the world.

FINANCE – Selwyn Resources Ltd. Aug. 18 said it has closed the C$100 million joint venture transaction with Chihong Canada Mining Ltd., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co. Ltd. Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co. Ltd. is controlled by China Yunnan Metallurgical Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise based in Kunming, China. Chihong owns and operates several zinc-lead mines in Yunnan province and a fully integrated zinc and lead metallurgical facility in Qujing, Yunnan. This facility produces refined zinc, lead and germanium, sulfuric acid and other products. The company is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

GOLD - Tagish Lake Gold Corp. said it received a proposal Aug. 20 from YS Mining Company Inc. and its two shareholders, Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. and Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Company Ltd. to enter into a legally binding and enforceable memorandum of understanding, which would provide for the formation of a new company that would own the company’s Mt. Skukum property and Yukon-Nevada’s Ketza River gold property located in the Yukon. Principal terms of the YSM Proposal include Northwest Nonferrous agreeing to purchase additional shares of YS Mining for C$60 million in cash; YS Mining would acquire, for shares in YS Mining, all of the issued and outstanding shares of Ketza River Holdings Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yukon-Nevada, which owns the Ketza River property; following completion of these two transactions, YS Mining and Tagish would merge or otherwise combine their respected businesses to form a new company under a plan of arrangement to be negotiated and agreed upon by the parties having regard to the respective fair market values of YS Mining and Tagish, as confirmed by an independent fairness opinion.

GOLD – New Pacific Metals Corp. Aug. 26 said it will file with applicable securities regulators and commence mailing an additional notice of change to shareholders of Tagish Lake Gold Corp. In connection with the takeover bid by New Pacific for all of the outstanding common shares and the offer to purchase all the debt of Tagish Lake, New Pacific said it is increasing its purchase offer for each common share of Tagish Lake to C9 cents in cash; or 0.1233 of a common share of New Pacific; or a combination of 50 percent in cash and 50 percent in New Pacific’s shares. The cash offer would represent a 125 percent premium over the C4-cent closing price of the Tagish shares on the TSX-V on July 2, the last trading day prior to the July 5 announcement of New Pacific’s intention to make the offer.

GOLD – Victoria Gold Corp. Aug. 24 said it closed an equity financing announced July 29, providing gross proceeds of $28,778,750 to the company. Victoria plans to use net proceeds from the offering for project development – notably the advancement of a decline and level development into the Helen Zone at the Cove Gold Project in Nevada (upon receipt of permits), and exploration at the company’s Nevada and Yukon gold projects, and for general corporate purposes. Victoria also said shareholders approved a rights plan at its annual and special meeting Aug. 19. The rights plan is expected to take effect on Aug. 27, 2010. Its purpose is to provide the board of directors and shareholders with additional time to properly consider any hostile takeover bid that may be made for the company and to allow for competing bids and alternative proposals to emerge. Victoria also reported that it drilled 28 holes totaling about 6,200 meters at the Dublin Gulch gold project in the Yukon since it began a 2010 exploration campaign in June. These holes were drilled mostly in the Eagle, Olive, Shamrock, and Steiner zones to date. Due to the unusually heavy volume of exploration activity in the Yukon, assay turnaround has been slower than expected. The purpose of the 2010 exploration campaign on the large Dublin Gulch property is to add gold mineralization to the existing Eagle pit design, define new zones of gold mineralization within economic trucking distance of the planned Eagle infrastructure, and delineate potential drill targets on other parts of the property. Victoria also announced the appointment of Mark Ayranto as vice president, Yukon. Ayranto has extensive experience in permitting and community relations, two areas of near-term focus at the Eagle Gold Project.

GOLD – Guinness Exploration Inc. reported completion of 13 drill hole totaling 1,238 meters and 2,340 meters of trenching, comprising 15 trenches in known targets and newly defined mineral targets at its Nantawa Project claims, which consist of 203 full or fractional claims with a total area of 3,136.43 square hectares located in south-central Yukon Territory 60 kilometers, or about 37 miles, west of the Village of Carmacks. Guinness President Alastair Brown drilling and trenching operations at Nantawa are working at full capacity and the Wellington, New Zealand-based junior on schedule to meet its aggressive summer exploration goals. “I’m also very pleased with the favorable interaction, feedback and advice received during an extensive meeting with several senior officials from the Yukon government agencies responsible or involved in the regulatory aspects of mineral exploration and development in the territory,” Brown said. “Our operations are in full compliance with the territory’s rigorous environmental standards, and our exploration plans have received positive regulatory feedback. In general, we strongly believe that the Nantawa Project is on track to achieve or exceed our exploration objectives this year.”