Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/855838
36 www.resourceworld.com A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 anomaly that he optioned to Underworld Resources in 2004. In March 2010, Underworld was swallowed by Kinross in a deal that sparked a staking rush as well as more discoveries, including Kaminak Gold's Coffee gold project (named after the colour of a nearby river) and Comstock Metals Ltd.'s [CSL-TSXV] QV Project. Back in March 2017, Goldstrike Resources Ltd. [GSR-TSXV] revealed that it had agreed to form a strategic alliance with Newmont Mining, the US mining giant that ranks among the world's larg- est gold producers. Under an agreement, Newmont can invest $53 million in Goldstrike and its Plateau Project. Plateau has been described as a newly discovered gold system, covering 350 km 2 , and con- taining high-grade mineralization. The company has a second property, the Lucky Strike, located in the heart of the White Gold District. It has been widely reported that compa- nies like Barrick and Newmont have been attracted by the geological similarities between parts of the Yukon, and the fabled Carlin gold trend in Nevada. It appears to be why Barrick has acquired a 19.9% stake in Atac Resources Ltd. and formed a strategic partnership with the junior on a section of its Rackla gold property known as the Orion Project. Orion is one of three separate projects located on Rackla. The other two are the Osiris and Rau. Under the arrangement, Barrick can earn a 70% interest in Orion by spending $55 million on exploration. Atac will top up the $5 million that Barrick is expected to spend at Orion by spending roughly $8 million at Osiris and $2 million at Rau. "We have the only significant Carlin- style mineralization outside of Nevada,'' said Atac President and CEO, Graham Downs. Atac is hoping to announce a maiden resource for the Osiris Project by 2018, Downs said. The need for more access roads was clearly evident when Resource World trav- elled to the project site in a helicopter. Reporters were picked up at an air strip on this massive property after travelling by plane from Dawson City. After touring the camp site, a Dutch fund manager said the junior will need to find a lot of gold in order to justify the cost of mine development. "I think they need 10 million ounces,'' said Terence van der Hout, a fund manager of Commodity Discovery Fund, which is based near Amsterdam in Holland. Not surpris- ingly, the 10 million ounce target appears to be what Atac is aiming for. The Government is clearly well versed on the challenges the mineral explor- ers face. Ranj Pillai, Yukon's Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources said conver- sations with the officials in Ottawa this summer will centre on road access and electrical grid infrastructure. Pillai said projects that will likely get support for road access include The Coffee Project, where Goldcorp is hoping to get regula- tory approval to begin mine construction