Source: Maurice Jackson for Streetwise Reports 10/24/2018
Greg Johnson, chairman and CEO of Metallic Minerals, sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable to discuss his company’s silver exploration in the Yukon.
Maurice Jackson: Joining us today is Greg Johnson, the CEO and chairman of Metallic Minerals Corp. (MMG:TSX.V), which is known for high grade silver in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
Today’s interview will be the first of a three-part series, introducing the value proposition for the Metallic Group of Companies comprising Metallic Minerals, Group 10 Metals and Granite Creek. These are three separate leading exploration companies, each with a different metal of focus, but with a common approach to business under the proven management of the Metallic Group.
Today, we will focus on Metallic Minerals, a leading explorer of high-grade silver in the Yukon Territory. Mr. Johnson, for someone new to the story, who is Metallic Minerals? What is your flagship project? What is the thesis you’re attempting to prove?
Greg Johnson: Metallic Minerals is a leading explorer for high-grade silver, and we are exploring in the Keno Hill silver district of Canada’s Yukon territory. This famous silver district is one of the highest-grade silver producers in the world, producing over 200 million ounces of past production and hosting over 100 million ounces of current resources.
Over the past two years, Metallic Minerals has consolidated the district adjacent to Alexco Resources, and we are undertaking exploration along the extensions of the known productive structures that continue onto our land holdings. We believe that the Keno Hill Silver District has the potential to be a billion plus ounce silver district, and geologically is very similar to the Coeur d’Alene District in Idaho, which has produced over 2 billion ounces of silver from very similar style veins.
Maurice Jackson: Please share where in the Yukon the Keno Silver Project is located and provide us with some historical context.
Greg Johnson: The Keno Silver Project is located in the central part of the Yukon and was discovered after the famous Klondike Gold Rush with dozens of producing mines developed in the district over the years since the 1920s to the present.
Metallic Minerals has consolidated what was previously very patchwork land ownership, with more than 40 different owners in the district. It’s largely now Alexco and ourselves, with eight past-producing, high-grade mines on our holdings, giving us excellent exploration potential.
Exploration of the Keno District over the past few years has seen some major new discoveries including the Bermingham silver deposit by Alexco, which is probably one of the best new silver discoveries in the industry, by grade and quality. It really demonstrates the remaining potential in this proven high-grade district for new discoveries.
Maurice Jackson: Mr. Johnson, we’ve covered some good background on the Keno Silver Project. Walk us through the project.
Greg Johnson: I think a good way to start is by taking a look at a map of the lower part of the Yukon. You can see on this map, the Keno District is right in the middle of the Yukon, located on the highway. There’s grid power on site with a mill operated by Alexco Resources. The Silver Trail highway from the Keno area connects to the Klondike highway leading through the capital, Whitehorse, and down to existing port shipping facilities, in Skagway, Alaska.
All the infrastructure that’s needed to build a mine is already here in the Keno District. This project also sits within the traditional territory of the Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation, who have comprehensive cooperation benefits, agreements in place with both Alexco and some of the other most advanced projects in the region. It’s really an excellent place to be exploring.
If we take a look at a regional map of the district you’ll see the Alexco holdings in the light green and the Metallic Mineral holdings in the golden brown color, that really forms the core part of the Keno Hill Silver District, where these high grade silver veins occur.
Within the region, there are additional players, such as Victoria Gold Corp. (VIT:TSX.V), which is developing a large open-pit mine that’s currently under construction. To the north, Atac Resources, partnered with Barrick Gold on the Rau Trend property, which is adjacent to our Mackay Hill project, another high-grade silver project that we’ll talk about a bit later.
On this map you can more clearly see the road access in the area, with Keno city and the Keno Hill mill in the center of the district. This infrastructure gives accessibility to the entire property and will really facilitate a development of any resources in the future.
Alexco Resources built the current mill in 2010. You’ll see that the average grade is between 840 and 930 grams per tonne for the current mine plan for Keno Hill. This is the highest grade of silver in its class. At 3.5 to 4 million ounces per year, this would make this a top 10 silver producer in terms of silver production levels among listed companies.