Like most mining jurisdictions worldwide, Yukon Territory encountered numerous challenges in 2013, including the prolonged drought in the capital markets. But the territory still managed to attract investment in more than 100 mineral exploration projects, most of which were follow-ups to campaigns in earlier seasons.

The Yukon Geological Survey, in its annual exploration overview to be released Jan. 26, estimates exploration expenditures throughout the territory in 2013 to total about C$45 million, down dramatically from C$300 million spent on comparable mine projects in 2011 and more in line with such spending in 2006-2007 and 1995-1996.

In 2013, gold exploration accounted for 76 percent of the total outlay, while silver exploration and copper exploration accounted for 12 percent and 6 percent, respectively, and exploration for zinc-lead and nickel-PGEs each accounted for 3 percent of total expenditures.

Quartz claim-staking in 2013 also continued to decrease from its high in 2011, with only

2,441 quartz claims staked by the end of October.

Exploration activity continued to range from grassroots prospecting and regional soil and silt sampling, to evaluating drill targets.

The YGS said the dramatic decreases in exploration dollars spent, quartz claim-staking and number of claims in good standing all indicate that the second.

Yukon gold rush of 2010-2012 is now over.

Yet a dozen or so companies mounted significant drill programs across the territory, at least one that reported a new gold discovery.

More Yukon gold, plus

Metals Creek Resources Corp, completed excavator trenching and a four-hole diamond drill program totaling 428 meters) at its Squid East Project located in the White Gold District of west-central Yukon.

Drill targets were defined by trenching over a northwest-trending gold-in-soil anomaly at the Exploits zone.

Three of the four drill holes hit mineralization with the best results in drill hole SE13-002, where drilling intersected oxidized bedrock and returned assay results of 2.43 grams per metric ton gold, 185.3 g/t silver and 0.47 percent lead over 12 meters starting at a depth of 14 meters and within a 21-meter interval grading 1.55 g/t gold, 114 g/t silver, and 0.31 percent lead. The mineralization is associated with brecciation, silicification, and pervasive sericite alteration.

Metals Creek acquired the Squid East property in 2011 through staking, 166 claims in four separate blocks. Three of the claim blocks are located in the Matson Creek area near placer gold workings, and the fourth block is located west of the Yukon River about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Kinross Gold Corp.'s White Gold Project.

The claims were staked to cover a number of gold geochemical anomalies, interpreted to be underlain by favorable geology similar to that hosting recently discovered gold deposits in the White Gold area.

In 2011, Metals Creek began exploring the property with prospecting and soil sampling. The next season, the company followed up with more detailed prospecting and soil sampling, which delineated a strong northwest trending gold, plus pathfinder element anomaly located on the Squid East claim block.

Metals Creeks reported results that include remarkably continuous anomalous values between sample locations with gold ranging up to 1,086 parts per billion.

Following the 2012 field results, an additional 46 quartz claims were staked, increasing the Squid East land package and bringing the company's total claims to 242.

The explorer reported the discovery of gold at Squid East in August based on trench results, including completed trench E4-3 which returned 1.96 grams per metric ton gold over the entire length of a 22-meter trench. The trench results also included a higher grade interval of 6.39 g/t gold over 4.0 meters. Individual chip samples within this zone were 2.0 meters long and ranged from 0.25 g/t to 8.55g/t gold. Trenching was limited to 22m within this portion of the trench due frost conditions on both ends.t

Metals Creek President and CEO Alexander (Sandy) Stares said assay results of the initial trenching program at Squid East demonstrate strong similarities to other proven projects in the White Gold district.

When the drill program results were reported in October, Stares said, "The trenching and drilling carried out over the past season was intended to find a bedrock source to the strong gold, plus pathfinder, soil anomaly defined in 2012. Results to date indicate that the trenching and drilling may have clipped the eastern side of a gold-silver alteration system, which is wide open for expansion. The intersected mineralization is completely oxidized and the combined gold and silver values make this zone somewhat unique in the White Gold District. A more systematic drill program is being contemplated for 2014."

Metals Creek Jan. 14 also reported encouraging results of metallurgical tests, including bottle roll cyanide extraction that averaged of 92 percent gold recovery from drill core and trench samples at the Squid East project.

"Positive results from the first-ever drill program combined with the preliminary bottle roll test work indicates that the weathered material appears amenable to heap leach extraction," said Stares.