Canada's first Carlin-type gold deposit, which is similar in mineralization to Nevada's gold fields, is being explored by ATAC Resources. The company has already identifed five deposits, which could only be the start.

(Kitco News) - Geologists no longer dispute that the Yukon Territory in Canada’s northwest holds gold deposits that are similar in geology to the gold fields in Nevada, but for many the only question is how far these newly discovered deposits actually spread.

For many years it was believed that Nevada’s gold deposits were unique and specific to that region; however, that theory had to be abandoned after the discovery of Canada’s first Carlin-type gold deposit in 2009.

Since then ATAC Resources (TSX.V: ATC) has been busy exploring the Rackla Gold property which covers an area of 1,700 square kilometers; the company has identified at least five Carline-type clusters, which could only be the start.

“We have lots of [geological] anomalies that we just haven’t had time to assess yet,” said Julia Lane, vice president of exploration for ATAC. “There is a ton of regional potential here.”

Julia Lane, vice president of exploration for ATAC Resources shows off some of the company's core samples from previous drill programs.

Exploration of the Carlin-type deposits started in earnest in 2010 and has been steadily progressing. In 2014 the company announced some positive drill results including two significant gold intervals that returned 42.67 meter of 3.03 grams per tonne (g/t) gold including 6.09 meters of 13.61 g/t gold and 21.71 meters of 3.15 g/t gold including 9.15 meters of 5.85 g/t gold.

According to the company’s presentation during a recent media tour of the project, ATAC has budgeted $3 million on exploration this year.

In her presentation at ATAC’s site, Lane explained that what makes the results exciting is the consistency of the gold deposits though the entire depth of the explored fields.

She said that a new understanding of geology in the Yukon and recognizing ancient fault lines were the keys to discovering the new deposit. Previously the area was ignored because explorers and geologists didn’t have a strong understanding of the rock formations; however, after recognizing similarities between the Yukon area and Nevada, this opened up the properties’ exploration potential.

ATAC’s project lies between the Dawson Thrust Fault and the Kathleen Lakes Fault. The deposits are found in offshoots of these fault lines.

“The more complex the rock formations, the better the opportunities for mineralization, and that is what we are seeing,” said Lane.

Graham Downs, president and CEO of ATAC, provided a simplistic description of the mineral formation of the project, saying what makes Yukon and Nevada similar is that at one time they were coastal regions and over the millennia rocks continued to fold into each other on these important fault lines.

According to the company’s exploration, both Nevada and the Rackla properties contain similar associated mineralization including, pyrite, quartz, calcium, fluorite and antimony. However the Yukon area is slightly older than Nevada. The age of mineralization in Nevada is between 42 million and 36 million years while the age of mineralization in the Rackla belt is between 74 million and 42 million years.

While the potential for the Rackla belt appears to be limitless, the Carlin-type formation has also been found in other parts of the Yukon. ATAC’s property is located in the northern part of the Selwyn Basin and in the south, Banyan Gold’s (TSX.V: BYN) Hyland project is finding similar rock formations.

Mark Ayranto, executive chairman of Banyan, said that the company has found deposits that are geologically similar to ATAC’s property. He added that ATAC has done a lot of work in recognizing the Carlin-type mineralization, which has helped open the door to new possibilities throughout the territory.

“We’re applying the same models they are using and it appears to be working,” he said.

Ayranto described his company as the Yukon’s newest exploration company. He added that he sees these deposits as a “string of pearls” that could end up stretching through the territory; it is only a matter of finding the right path.

Downs agreed that there is potential for further discoveries as the understanding of the area and mineralization continue to evolve.

“People have spent only half the time exploring the Yukon as they have Nevada,” he said.

To put the latest discovery in the Yukon into perspective, more than 69% of American’s gold production comes from Nevada. The Carlin trend was first discovered in 1962.

As to whether the Yukon will be the next Nevada, Lane couldn’t speculate, saying that that more exploration is needed.

By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com
Follow Neils Christensen @neils_C

http://www.kitco.com/news/2015-08-18/Can-Canada-s-Yukon-Gold-Deposits-Surpass-Nevada-s-Gold-Fields.html