History
Skukum Gold Project – History and Key Milestones
Early Mining and Production (1986–1988)
The Skukum area’s first significant gold production came from the Mt. Skukum underground mine in the late 1980’s where earlier operators at produced ~80,000 ounces of gold over a brief period at an average grade of ~13 g/t Au1. This initial operation established a foundation of infrastructure forming a useful launching point for future exploration.
Ownership Changes and Exploration Timeline (1990s–2020)
After the 1988 mine closure, the Skukum property (earlier known as the Tagish Lake Gold Project) went through several ownership transitions accompanied by selective exploration that was often compartmentalized due to fractured ownership. In the early 2000’s, Tagish Lake Gold Corp. consolidated the area and carried out targeted drilling that mainly tested Skukum Ck1. The project’s ownership then shifted in 2010 when New Pacific Metals Corp. acquired Tagish Lake Gold. New Pacific’s work confirmed the presence of multiple high-grade zones (Skukum Creek, Goddell, and Mt.
Skukum), but was cut short in 2011 only to be left dormant for almost a decade. Only in 2020, did the project resurface, as Whitehorse Gold Corp., which undertook a little over a year’s exploration to finish up the last drilling on the project in November 2021. The ~16 km drilling completed in 2021 helped to inform an updated resource estimate and technical report (2022). No further exploration has been completed on-site since that period.
NI 43-101 Resource Definition and Infrastructure Advantages
The intensive work by Whitehorse Gold led to an updated NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource for the Skukum Project, underscoring its significant remaining gold-silver endowment. As of an October 2022, the project hosts close to one million ounces of gold-equivalent (AuEq) in three defined deposits4,5. This includes approximately 418,000 oz AuEq in Indicated resources (348,000 oz of gold and 5.87 million oz of silver) plus 517,000 oz AuEq Inferred (449,000 oz gold and 5.63 million oz silver) at an average grade of ~5–8 g/t AuEq5. Notably, resources remain open for expansion along strike and at depth with multiple under-explored zones identified for follow-up6.
In addition to the defined resource base, the Skukum Gold Project benefits from excellent infrastructure established as a result of past operators. The site is road-accessible, and located ~55 km south of Whitehorse 7,8. On-site infrastructure includes a 50-person camp, an extensive network of exploration and access roads, and a technical services workshop and office1.
Sources
1. New Pacific Announces Spin-Out of Tagish Lake Gold Project https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/22/2066178/0/en/New-Pacific-Announces-Spin-Out-of-Tagish-Lake-Gold-Project-to-Create-Whitehorse-Gold.html
2., 3., 7. Whitehorse drills Skukum gold and silver - North of 60 Mining News https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/story/2022/01/27/mining-explorers-2021/whitehorse-drills-skukum-gold-and-silver/7218.html
4., 8. Blue Jay Gold Announces Acquisition of Skukum Gold Project in the Yukon from Tincorp Metals - Mining Stock Education https://www.miningstockeducation.com/2025/06/blue-jay-gold-announces-acquisition-of-skukum-gold-project-in-the-yukon-from-tincorp-metals/
5. Tincorp Metals Inc. | Overview https://tincorp.com/projects/skukum-gold-project/overview/
6. Tincorp Metals Inc. | News https://tincorp.com/news-releases/whitehorse-gold-announces-skukum-gold-project-mineral-resource-estimate-update/