Gold-Copper-Molybdenum porphyry prospect

Under option to Benjamin Hill Mining Corp. (announced January 18, 2023). Benjamin Hill Mining can acquire a 60% interest in the project by: (i) making aggregate cash payments to Strategic of $500,000 by January 17, 2028; and (ii) incurring aggregate exploration expenditures of $11 million on the property by the end of 2027. Following the exercise of the option, Benjamin and Strategic will form a 60/40 joint venture to further explore and develop the property.

The Alotta porphyry gold-copper-molybdenum project, which is located in the Dawson Range porphyry belt of southwestern Yukon (Figure 1), 40 km south of Western Copper and Gold’s Casino porphyry project.

The Alotta project is marked by a broad magnetic low that corresponds to a zone of high-level dykes, brecciation and pervasive phyllic and potassic alteration, which are developed within a portion of a large pluton mainly composed of magnetite-bearing, coarse-grained granodiorite. The magnetic low is the result of sulphide replacement of magnetite within the alteration zone (Figure 2).

Positive results from successive programs prompted corresponding expansions to the claim block, and the property now totals 74 mineral claims encompassing over 1500 hectares. Collectively the soil geochemical sampling surveys have outlined a very large target that demonstrates classic porphyry zonation, with a 4200 m long by up to 1500 m wide core of strong copper and molybdenum values flanked by lead-zinc-silver anomalies. Highly elevated gold values, which reach a maximum of 2680 ppb, occur throughout the entire area of grid sampling and likely delineate the porphyry mineralization and fringing vein systems. The area of anomalous soil geochemistry closely coincides with the magnetic low (Figures 3 through 7).

The Alotta property is located in an unglaciated portion of Yukon, which is characterized by deep weathering. There is almost no outcrop on the property and most parts of it are well vegetated. Work by the Yukon Geological Survey has shown that residual soils in much of the Dawson Range are covered by a thick layer of eluvium and younger volcanic ash. These features, coupled with localized leaching of metals (particularly copper) from near surface rocks, often dampen the intensity of soil geochemical response and hamper prospecting and mapping. In spite of these limitations, soil sampling at Alotta has yielded highly prospective results and rock sampling has returned elevated gold values that are consistent with expected porphyry grades, including a 2021 sample that assayed 8.73 g/t gold (Figure 8).

No drilling or mechanized trenching has been done at the Alotta project. Now that the area of geochemically anomalous response has been outlined, Strategic believes that the next stage of exploration should consist of deep array induced polarization surveys, coupled with detailed magnetic and radiometric surveys. A maiden diamond drill program should be undertaken following comprehensive interpretation of geophysical, geochemical and geological data.