Banyan Gold (TSXV: BYN) on Monday reported an initial mineral resource estimate of 903,945 ounces in the inferred category for its Aurex and McQuesten properties, located in the Mayo Mining district of Yukon, approximately 56 km northeast from the village of Mayo and 356 km north of Whitehorse.
The properties, together referred to as the AurMac property, are held by the company under earn-in option agreements with StrataGold, a 100% owned subsidiary of Victoria Gold (TSXV: VIT) and Alexco Resource (TSX: AXR).
The AurMac property is located 40 km from Victoria Gold’s open-pit, heap-leach mine and 10 km from Alexco’s mill facility in the Keno Hills District.
The Airstrip and Powerline deposits contained within the AurMac property are both on and near-surface deposits and potentially open-pit mineable, with expected low strip ratios.
“We are excited with the value this initial mineral resource estimate generates for our shareholders, particularly given the modest exploration expenditures by Banyan, generating ounces at less than $2 per ounce,” president and CEO Tara Christie stated in a press release.
“Further, examination of the Airstrip mineral resource model highlights its robust nature; when the cut-off grade is increased by 50%, to 0.3 g/t, less than 15% of the ounces are reduced; while, the grade increases by more than 20% to an average of 0.65 g/t.”
She added that the deposit model exercise has identified a series of drill targets, which will “meaningfully build upon this initial mineral resource.”
Shares of Banyan Gold jumped 43.7% on Monday to a two-year high on the initial resource estimate released. The Canadian mining junior has a market capitalization of approximately C$15 million.