North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Rockhaven Resources Ltd.'s Klaza Project located at the end of the Nansen Road in central Yukon Territory may be coming into its own as an exciting precious metals property.

After three years of exploration, the junior has amassed 460 claims, enough to comprise 90-square kilometers (35 square miles) within a highly prospective area of the Dawson Range. In addition, Rockhaven, a company spawned by the folks at Strategic Metals Ltd. and Archer, Cathro & Associates Limited, has gradually stepped out from its first drilling in 2010.

"We were able to progressively grow the property through the years by staking when holders accidentally allowed the claims to lapse," said Rockhaven President Matt Turner.

The junior also purchased some of the ground out to the east, southeast and northeast of the original land package.

The aggressive land acquisitions, coupled with robust exploration programs (208 drill holes since 2010) could bode well for the future of the project.

"We're about two kilometers from where we started in 2010. The drill is farther out toward the west as you get away from the main porphyry that's situated over to the east of here," Turner said.

Rockhaven has reported very encouraging drill results this summer from a 21,000-meter drill program in 100 holes currently underway at Klaza.

Among the best of these intersections: 26.71 grams per metric ton gold and 172 g/t silver over 2.98 meters including 38.20 g/t gold and 333 g/t silver (44.86 g/t gold-equivalent) over 1.16 meters in hole 150; and 22.43 g/t gold ad 245 g/t silver (27.33 g/t gold-equivalent) including 64.90 g/t gold and 725 g/t silver (79.40 g/t gold-equivalent) over 0.72 meters in hole 151.

"We figure that we're in the sweet spot of the system, and we don't know how much farther it goes out to the west. But we've pulled some pretty phenomenal holes this year," Turner told Mining News during a visit to the Klaza property Aug. 7.

So far, the company has explored a two-kilometer by three kilometer area, or about 7 percent, of the entire property. Rockhaven has exposed nine zones along 10 kilometers of strike on the property and drilled to a depth of 400 meters.

"We've done very little other exploration - some soils. But what do they mean? Who knows," he said.

Turner attributes the recent strong drilling results to the company's decision to explore a high-grade area that it identified in 2012 with a 5,000-meter program of less-costly trenching at 50-meter spacing in 2013.

"We were able to add a lot of value and get it all dressed up for this year," Turner said.

The work last year confirmed the high-grade zone and enabled the junior to raise money about C$3 million, mostly from insiders, who currently own about 70-75 percent of the junior's 83 million outstanding shares.

But that could soon change. With the reports of strong drilling results this summer has come interest from lots of "tire kickers" among the majors," said Turner, who has noted that Sumitomo is a neighbor, with a property just to the south of Klaza.

Rockhaven plans to spend about C$2 million on its 2014 drill program, which began June 1. With initial all-in cost per meter of C$205, and the impact of a third drill that began turning the first week in August should bring down the average per-meter cost to C$185.

"This has got to be one of the cheapest exploration programs in Yukon," Turner said.

If the assay results continue to be favorable, Turner said Rockhaven will continue stepping back with the drilling at Klaza in hopes of determining the extent of the high-grade mineralization.

Experts see CBM gold system

Part of management's enthusiasm for the project stems from observations about the mineralization at Klaza made by some of the world's leading geologists.

For example, top geologist Vic Wall happened to examine rock samples from Klaza at the Prospectors and Developers Association Convention one year and said, "Guys, what I think you've got here is a carbonate base metal gold system."

Wall is known for clearing up confusion at Buriticá, a misclassified ore body in Latin America. Earlier surveys had failed to identify the deposit as a high-grade carbonate base metal gold vein deposit, largely because it is a style of deposit not common in the region. Wall, who has published extensively on the subject, picked up and demonstrated its similarity to Barrick Gold Corp.'s 25-million-ounce Porgera deposit in Papua New Guinea.

Taking Walls observations to heart, Rockhaven's management engaged another top geologist, Professor Jeremy Richards of the University of Alberta, to study the mineralization at Klaza. Richards has concluded that the property may indeed host an atypical CBM gold system, which would be a new type of gold deposit identified in Yukon.

"Most epithermals are fairly dependent on pressure and temperature, but this thing could go down a long ways," Turner said. He also noted that there is a phenomenal correlation between magnetic lows and electromagnetic signatures on the property.

"We noticed it right away. The mineralized zones hosted within magnetic lows but structures extend for a long ways. Our big hope is as long at the continuity holds up, we can put together an inferred resource at the end of this year's program," Turner said.

Beyond that, it is too early to say. "The drill holes are starting to get too long and too deep. It would make sense to go underground, but it depends on drill results and getting a resource estimate. We've got a lot of blue sky at depth," he added.