Dawson City, Yukon — Shares in Yukon-focused Snowline Gold (CSE: SGD; US-OTC: SNWGF) have rocketed 90% year-to-date with analysts saying another discovery this month at its Rogue project makes it a pumped-up version of Kinross Gold’s (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) Fort Knox mine in Alaska.
Snowline reported a new high-grade zone of more than 2 grams gold per tonne at depth in its Valley target on Aug. 3 along with its strongest gold intersections so far that it said rank among the Yukon’s best ever. It’s the latest in a series of drill results that have driven investor interest past the $19 million investment by B2Gold (TSX: BTO) in March despite the project’s remote location about 200 km beyond developed roads and the lack of a resource estimate.
“Valley is Fort Knox on steroids,” Michael Gray, a mining analyst at Agentis Capital, said in a note after Snowline reported 2.48 grams gold per tonne over 553.8 metres from surface including 5 grams over 132 metres from 6 metres downhole. “We consider it a breakthrough to see more than 2 grams gold per tonne mineralization over a broad interval to more than 450 metres vertical depth.”
Snowline is the standard-bearer of a surging exploration scene in the Yukon along the Tombstone gold belt. It arcs north from British Columbia then sweeps west from the Northwest Territories into Alaska, where Fort Knox has produced more than 9 million oz. over 27 years. Along the way is the Yukon’s only operating hard rock gold mine, run by Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX), plus juniors Banyan Gold (TSXV: BYN; US-OTC: BYAGF), Sitka Gold (CSE: SIG) and St. James Gold (TSXV: LORD) with early-stage projects.
Shares in Snowline Gold rose nearly 5% on Wednesday afternoon to a record $6.05 apiece even as wider markets fell, valuing the Vancouver-based company at $859 million.
