Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Strikepoint to drill YU gold projects

Strikepoint Gold Inc. March 31 announced plans for at C$2 million of exploration on the Yukon properties it acquired from IDM Mining earlier this year. The total land package includes 22 properties in the Yukon that have been the target of roughly C$25 million of exploration by Ryan Gold Corp. Of these, Strikepoint has selected three - Pluto, Mahtin and Golden-Oly - as ready to be drilled. Strikepoint is planning a 'surgical' exploration program for 2017 that will focus on proving geological concepts identified by the extensive historical exploration work. Pluto, found in the Kluane region, is prospective for a gold-bearing skarn, a unique mineralizing system for the area. Roughly 15,900 soil samples have been collected at Pluto, with one such sample returning 15.43 grams per metric ton gold. Strikepoint believes sizeable skarn deposits are responsible for the gold found in soil samples at Pluto and will test this theory with drilling in 2017. Mahtin shares many geological and mineralization similarities with Victoria Gold's Eagle Gold project, which is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the northeast. Extensive soil sampling, along with mapping and geophysical surveys, has identified two undrilled intrusion-related gold targets on the property. The company filed a technical report on the Mahtin property in mid-March. Golden-Oly is a large land package in eastern Yukon that has traditionally known for its tungsten and zinc potential. Recent work at Golden-Oly, however, has identified several gold targets. Airborne geophysics flown in 2012 highlighted six individual anomalies that correspond to topographic highs in the field. Soil sampling across these anomalies has further highlighted the anomalous gold-in-soil results, as well as having a geochemical fingerprint - gold, arsenic and bismuth - of intrusion related gold systems. Drilling in 2017 will test one of these anomalies being called the Nuke intrusive. This drilling is designed to enforce the model, which can be used to assess the potential of the other five targets on the property.

-Shane Lasley