Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Drilling Strategic gold properties in the Yukon

Strategic Metals Ltd. Aug. 9 said the second phase of its 2016 exploration, which includes roughly 5,000 meters of drilling at three of its properties in Yukon Territory, is now underway. Drilling at the Hartless Joe property is testing below trenches at the King and Queen showings, where chip samples collected earlier this summer graded 44.3 grams per metric ton gold across 2.1 meters and 462 g/t gold across 0.4 meters, respectively. Strategic also intends to drill at the Hopper and the Mars properties as part of the phase-2 program. The primary target at Hopper, located along the Aishihik road in southwestern Yukon, is a gold-rich skarn horizon that was intercepted in two 2015 drill holes. Located 350 meters apart, these intercepts graded 43.6 g/t gold over one meter and 12.15 g/t gold over 2.65 meters. The skarn horizon is believed to have a shallow dip and the mineralization is open in all directions. Drilling at the Mars property, located 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Hartless Joe, will test along strike and down-dip of a 2004 drill intercept that averaged 6.44 g/t gold over 4.57 meters. No other holes have been drilled in the area of this discovery.

-Shane Lasley