Barrick Gold invests $8.3M in Yukon gold project, with potential for more
Investment could potentially reach $63.3 million, Atac Resources says
The world's largest gold mining company is investing $8.3 million into a Yukon gold project, Atac Resources announced Monday.
B.C.-based Atac Resources, which owns the Rackla Gold project about 55-kilometres east of Keno City, said it signed a property earn-in agreement with Barrick Gold. That means Barrick can acquire an interest in Atac's Rackla Gold property.
The potential total investment could reach $63.3 million, Atac said. That money would be spent on additional exploration investment by Barrick as the Rackla project progresses.
Under the agreement, Barrick can increase its shares in Atac to 19.9 per cent up from the 9.2 per cent it currently owns.
Atac announced in January it would spend $10 million on exploring the 1,742-square-kilometre site this year.
Ranj Pillai, Yukon's minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, first spoke about the investment on CBC Radio's A New Day program at about 7:20 a.m. PT.
"There's some big news coming down this morning," he said. "There's an investment by Barrick into a Yukon company, Atac. I'll leave it at that.
"Now with Barrick we have all the major players that are working in Canada... in the Yukon," he said. "It should be a very exciting exploration season."