GOLD – Taku Gold Corp. April 9 said it has fulfilled all of the requirements under a 2010 option agreement with Shawn Ryan for the Rosebute gold property in the White Gold area of Yukon. Accordingly, Taku has acquired an undivided 100 percent right, title and interest in and to Rosebute. Ryan retains a 2 percent net smelter return royalty on mineral production, half of which Taku may purchase for C$2 million. The 694-claim (14,080-hectare) Rosebute property is located some 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Dawson City. Taku has completed extensive exploration on Rosebute including 1,107 line-kilometers of airborne geophysical surveys, 10,087 deep auger-type soil geochemical samples, 90 rock samples, 963 meters of drilling in four holes, 1,341 meters of trenching in nine trenches, 7,885 meters of induced polarization and resistivity geophysical surveys on 19 lines, and 680 meters of Geoprobe bedrock geochemical sampling. To date, three target areas – Nor’West, HudBay and Southeast have been identified at Rosebute. The Nor’West zone consists of a cluster of three gold-in-soil anomalies within a circular feature covering roughly 450 hectares in the northern part of the property. In 2012, 963 meters of drilling was done in four holes to test the subsurface extent of the three gold-in-soil anomalies. Three of the four holes returned notable gold intersections. Including 0.95 grams per metric ton gold over 23.4 meters in the first hole, 1.58 g/t gold over 1 meter in the second and 0.88 g/t gold over 3 meters in the fourth. The HudBay zone, located about 2,500 meters southwest of Nor’West, was identified with two discreet anomalous ridge and spur samples collected in 2011. Subsequent detailed sampling has outlined a gold-in-soil zone trending northwest over a length of at least 1200 meters that varies from 150 to 350 meters wide and shows a maximum value of 0.9 g/t gold in soils. Trenching in 2011 traced the zone over a 600 meters horizontal distance highlighted by sampling that included 6.17 g/t gold over 5 meters in one trench and 1.5 g/t gold over 20 meters in a second trench. In 2013, Geoprobe bedrock geochemical sampling found highly anomalous results with maximum values up to 4.3 g/t gold. Together the soil geochemical, trenching and Geoprobe® results clearly define a linear, north-trending, gold-bearing structure that varies from 10-30 meters wide over a horizontal distance of 1,100 meters. The Southeast zone, located 750 meters southeast of Hudbay, is identified by an anomalous gold-in-soil trend that varies from 50 to 250 meters wide over a length of 650 meters with maximum values up to 96 parts per billion gold. The induced polarization and resistivity survey completed in 2013 outlines a resistivity trend that corresponds very well to the gold-in-soil trend. “Rosebute remains an excellent gold project despite the downturn in Yukon’s exploration sector. One way or another, we hope to make a significant discovery on this property with drilling,” said Taku President and CEO Zak Dingsdale.

INFRASTRUCTURE – The governments of Yukon and Alaska have jointly awarded a C$250,000 contract to assess the feasibility of developing electrical and telecommunications connections between Yukon and Southeast Alaska, the Government of Yukon reported April 9. A consortium of four consulting companies led by Morrison Hershfield Limited, Whitehorse; partnering with Access Consulting Group, Whitehorse; Dryden & LaRue, Anchorage; and InterGroup Consultants, Winnipeg was the winning bidder in a competitive tendering process led by the Yukon government. “Developing new and efficient telecommunications and energy infrastructure will stimulate private sector growth in both jurisdictions,” Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Scott Kent said. “We’re looking forward to learning how this connection can potentially benefit Yukoners in significant ways.” Susan Bell, Alaska Commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development added: “The contract award is yet another milestone in developing increased economic opportunity and communication capacity for both Yukon and Southeast Alaska.” In October, both parties signed a memorandum of understanding to fund a feasibility study for a combined electrical transmission and telecommunications connection between Whitehorse and Skagway, Alaska. In February, both governments agreed to issue a request for proposal for the study. The winning group of companies also will examine the financial, technical and economic viability of creating an economic corridor for the development of new electrical generation options near Skagway. The consultants’ final report will be presented to the Yukon-Southeast Alaska Economic Development Corridor Working Group by Dec. 31. The development of this economic corridor is a result of the partnership created by the Alaska-Yukon Intergovernmental Relations Accord signed in June 2012.

FINANCE – Rockhaven Resources Ltd. April 9 reported that it has closed a private placement that consisted of the sale by Rockhaven of 15 million flow-through units at a price of C18 cents each, for aggregate subscription proceeds of C$2.7 million. Each flow-through unit consisted of one flow-through common share and one-half (1/2) of a share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share at a price of C30 cents until April 7, 2015; and nearly 2.7 million units at a price of C15 cents each, for aggregate subscription proceeds of C$400,000. Each unit consisted of one common share and one-half (1/2) of a share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share at a price of C30 cents until April 7, 2015. Strategic Metals Ltd., Rockhaven’s largest shareholder, purchased 5.3 million flow-through units as part of the private placement. Strategic now holds more than 24.46 million shares of Rockhaven, representing 30.88 percent of Rockhaven’s currently issued and outstanding share capital. Rockhaven paid cash finders’ fees totaling C$62,242.79 and issued 355,327 finder warrants in connection with this private placement. Each finder warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of Rockhaven at a price of C30 cents until April 7, 2015. All of the securities issued pursuant to the private placement are subject to a hold period in Canada which will expire on August 8, 2014. The proceeds from the sale of the flow-through units will be used to finance the recently announced 12,000-meter diamond drill program at Rockhaven’s Klaza gold-silver property, located in the Dawson Gold Belt of southwestern Yukon. The proceeds from the sale of the units will be used for general working capital.