Total Erickson reserves are boosted at Mount Skookum

Drilling on the Brandy and Lake zones has boosted reserves at Total Erickson Resources’ Mount Skukum gold property south of Whitehorse, Yukon. The drilling blocked out an additional 104,610 tons of probable ore grading 0.48 oz gold per ton, says the company. The Lake vein, which is still open at depth and to the south, is being accessed by an adit which should reach the structure sometime in March.

Some of the better results in the Lake zone included 5.9 ft of 1.54 oz, 7.3 ft grading 1.5 oz and 22 ft averaging 0.47 oz. In the Brandy, there was 4.4 ft of 1-oz gold, 4.2 ft grading 0.74 and 5.7 ft at 0.22 oz.

The main Cirque vein, which is being mined at present, has been traced along strike by geophysics and several targets will be tested in the coming year. There are several other veins within the immediate area of the underground workings which have yet to be drilled.

Elsewhere on the property, reconnaissance work has located several more promising prospects including a gold soil anomaly at Sulphide Creek with a strike length of approximately 800 ft. The anomaly is coincident with an apparent ring fracture, a common location for epithermal vein systems.

The Berney Creek lineament, which hosts gold and silver mineralization on nearby ground held by Omni Resources, trends across the Mount Skukum property for several miles. Quartz veining and precious metals values have been found near that fault structure, says Total Erickson.

At least two gold-bearing veins are known to exist on the Chieftain Hill property and they have been traced for hundreds of feet. This area will be a priority target in 1987, says Total Erickson.