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16 www.resourceworld.com A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 7 Insights & Investments by Barry Muir I t was August 16, 1896 that Keish Mason, better known as Skookum Jim (because he could carry over 100 pounds on his back), his sister Kate and Seattleite George Washington Carmack spotted gold glistening in the cold waters of Rabbit Creek near Dawson in the Yukon region of Canada. The three of them, along with other locals began to stake claims up and down the creek finding gold every- where. These early stakeholders eventually became known as the Klondike Kings, creating tremendous wealth for them- selves and sparking one of the biggest gold rushes in history – the Klondike gold rush. News spread slowly at first, but the fol- lowing summer the steamship Portland arrived in Seattle from the Yukon with more than a ton of gold on board. The headlines caused a migration of an estimated 100,000 prospectors to stampede into the area. Almost overnight, Dawson City grew from a population of 500 to over 30,000 people. It quickly became the largest city north of San Francisco and the first city in Western Canada to have electric lights. The streets even had fire hydrants. The Northwest Mounted Police did their best to keep order in a town known for its nefarious charac- ters, gamblers and hustlers. Many of the new Klondikers gave up and returned home while others simply perished along the way as they faced the fierce Canadian winters head on. Those that did make it to the placer gold creeks found all the creeks had been claimed by the time they got there and ended up working for the Klondike Kings. The pay was good, but this wasn't what they had risked their lives for – braving the treach- erous mountain passes or rafting down icy rapids on rickety hand-made rafts. So a few years later in 1899 when rumors circulated of a gold discovery in Nome, Alaska, most of Dawson City up and left, once again in pursuit of fame and fortune. George Carmack ended up mar- rying Skookum Jim's sister, Kate. They had a daughter who eventually joined her father in San Francisco after the gold rush where George enjoyed a second prosperous career, this time as a real estate developer. Kate died in the Yukon at 62, broke and alone. This past year has been especially tough on Yukon miners with the closing of Yukon Zinc's Wolverine mine and North American Tungsten's Cantung Mine last fall, while Capstone Mining has seen lay- offs at its Minto Mine due to slumping copper prices. But at the same time, some significant developments have begun to restore hope to mining in Canada's smallest territory. First of all, there was Goldcorp's [G-TSX; GG-NYSE] acquisition of Kaminak Gold's Coffee Gold project through a $520 million takeover. Kaminak Gold became a prime takeover target after releasing a feasibility study demonstrating a mine at their high- grade Coffee Project could be paid for in two years with an estimated gold produc- tion of 1.9 million ounces of gold over its life. In December, Agnico-Eagle [AEM- TSX; NYSE] purchased a 19.3% stake in thousands of mining claims originally owned by renowned Yukon prospector, Shawn Ryan, for $14.52 million. The claims are part of a new company called White Gold Corp. [WGO-TSXV]. Shawn Ryan is widely credited with the area's first major discovery since the Klondike gold rush, when in 2009, on claims he had optioned to Underworld Resources, announced a spec- tacular hole of 3.34 g/t gold over about 340 feet located 47 miles south of Dawson City. The Two-Four highly oxidized McConnells Jest Project in the Tintana Gold Belt adjacent to Victoria Gold's Eagle Mine Project in the Yukon. Photo courtesy Zonte Metals Inc. A turning point for Yukon mining