Mining News: Gold-copper skarn Drilled at Pluto, YU

StrikePoint Gold Inc. Oct. 23 announced that drilling has encountered gold and copper at Pluto, one of 22 Yukon mineral exploration properties the company acquired from IDM Mining earlier this year. Located in the Kluane region of southwestern Yukon, Pluto is an early stage exploration project where prospecting has identified skarn mineralization. The 2017 program at Pluto included 12 rotary air blast drill holes testing two targets – eight at Charon target and four at Hydra. Hole 17-CRN-01, the first hole drilled at Charon, cut 6.1 meters of 0.74 grams per metric ton gold with 1.67 percent copper. Hole 17-CRN-02, also drilled at Charon, cut 15.24 meters averaging 1.05 g/t gold. Another hole drilled at Charon cut 32 meters of 0.14 percent copper. Drilling at Hydra, which is 6,000 meters southwest of Charon, cut 10.67 meters of 0.4 g/t gold. "The discovery through drilling of copper and gold mineralization occurring at Pluto is an exciting development," said StrikePoint CEO Shawn Khunkhun. StrikePoint said the mineralization encountered in both zones is hosted in limestone layers which are altered by skarn and marble. The 2017 program also included extensive mapping of the northeastern portion of the property and surface sampling. Highlights from grab samples collected from Charon include 48.4 g/t gold, 36.3 g/t gold and 1.23 percent copper.

–SHANE LASLEY