Sitka Gold’s Yukon Project: 5 Moz Resource, but Mostly Inferred

Sitka Gold’s RC Gold resource has passed 5 million ounces, yet roughly three quarters of it sits in the inferred category and no economic study exists. The split is stark: 1.291 Moz indicated against 3.829 Moz inferred, and it frames how much of this Yukon story is evidenced and how much is still a promise.

A doubled drilling programme (up to 60,000 m in 2026), a maiden tungsten resource at Rhosgobel and a surge in tungsten prices have pushed the Sitka Gold Yukon project into wider view. The original interview with exploration director Mike Burke dates from the 2025 season, so this analysis reflects the February 2026 resource update and assays through September 2026.

Here is which parts of the story are already evidenced, and which still depend on studies not yet done.

What does a 5 million ounce resource and a doubled drilling programme actually prove?

The headline is impressive. Underneath it, the evidence thins out quickly.

The resource today

The project’s pit-constrained resource, estimated at a 0.3 g/t cut-off grade (the minimum grade counted as potentially mineable), covers three deposits: Blackjack, Rhosgobel and Eiger. A resource is classed as indicated when drilling gives reasonable confidence in its size and grade, and as inferred when confidence is lower.

Every indicated ounce sits at Blackjack. Rhosgobel and Eiger are earlier-stage. Some coverage rounds the inferred figure to 3.83 Moz, which is a rounding difference, not a conflict.

For context, Sitka’s 18 December 2025 release showed Blackjack inferred at 1.044 Moz and Eiger inferred at 440 koz. The 2026 update added the maiden Rhosgobel estimate. The gold price used in the estimate was not disclosed in the available materials.

The inferred-heavy split tells you the ounce count measures scale and potential, not bankable value. Upgrade results are the metric that matters.

For readers wanting to see why share prices react so differently to similar upgrades, our dedicated guide to reading resource estimates beyond headline tonnage shows how classification categories change the weight of an ounce figure.

What the 2026 drilling is testing

Upgrading is exactly what the drilling is designed to do. By 20 August 2026, Sitka had completed about 37,000 m across 76 holes with seven rigs running, against a fully funded plan of up to 60,000 m that effectively doubles total meterage to date. Exploration permits are in hand.

About 15,000 m is allocated to the 2 km Blackjack-Eiger corridor, with further targets at Bearpaw and Pukelman-Contact. The assays so far are strong. Rhosgobel returned 150.3 m at 1.49 g/t Au in January, then 159.2 m at 1.14 g/t Au, including 7.3 m at 8.89 g/t Au, on 8 September.

Blackjack, 21 September 2026 141.5 m at 1.93 g/t Au, including 80.6 m at 3.20 g/t Au, confirming higher-grade mineralisation at depth and near surface.

Thick, higher-grade intercepts inside the existing footprint are what convert inferred ounces into indicated ones. They are the evidence worth tracking.

Why does the reduced intrusion-related gold system style matter for economics?

Why would a deposit grading around one gram per tonne attract serious attention? The answer lies in the geometry and the access.

How the deposit style works

A reduced intrusion-related gold system (RIRGS) is a bulk-tonnage gold deposit style, recognised from the late 1980s, in which gold forms in and around granite-type intrusions. Grades are modest but volumes are large. Fort Knox in Alaska is the reference point, discovered in 1987 with production starting in 1996.

The Fort Knox precedent The first RIRGS discovery, Fort Knox in Alaska, was found in 1987 and began production in 1996.

Sitka’s deposits sit in the western Tombstone Gold Belt, between Dawson City and Mayo, roughly a two-hour drive from Dawson City. Their physical traits matter:

• The granite-type host resists erosion, so all deposits outcrop at surface.
• Roads left by past placer mining already reach the exploration area.
• Burke says the mineralisation is not acid-generating and has few deleterious elements.

What it means for project economics

Sitka and aligned commentators argue that at-surface, road-accessible, pit-constrained deposits support open-pit economics through reduced stripping, easier logistics and lower infrastructure costs. Crescat Capital frames the system as large tonnage at about 0.7-1.0 g/t Au. Burke adds that ounces can be added quickly and metallurgy is consistent.

This is the company’s framing and that of sympathetic commentators. No documented analyst disagreement on Yukon RIRGS economics was found, but neither was independent confirmation.

For you, low strip ratios and existing roads matter because at moderate grades, cost and gold price sensitivity decide viability. That cannot be confirmed until a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), an early-stage study of likely costs and returns, is published.

Is tungsten at Rhosgobel a real by-product credit or just a headline?

The price move is striking. Reuters reported on 29 April 2026 that Rotterdam ammonium paratungstate (APT, the standard traded tungsten intermediate) exceeded $3,000 per tonne, up more than 200% in 2026. China had limited tungsten exporters to 15 firms for 2026-2027, while military demand rose.

The percentages differ because the baselines differ, not because the sources disagree on price. Argus also noted that Chinese prices have trended down since April.

The softening in Chinese prices does not erase the export whitelist and US allocation orders that created a policy-driven tungsten price floor, which is why the price backdrop is better described as strong but easing.

Now the evidence at Rhosgobel narrows. The maiden inferred resource is 51,345 t of WO₃, with tungsten occurring as scheelite in veins at roughly 0.1-0.2% WO₃ over tens of metres to more than 150 m. One interval returned 13.9 m at 0.383% WO₃ on 8 September.

Initial testwork reportedly indicates about 94% gold and 85% tungsten recovery using conventional methods. That is company-stated, and the 2026 technical-report summaries reviewed did not present metallurgy.

• Known: an inferred resource, low-grade intercepts, a strong but easing price backdrop.
• Not known: an independent view of a realistic by-product credit, or any economic study.

Burke argues critical-mineral status could aid non-dilutive funding and permitting, and that gold remains the primary thesis. You should read tungsten as optionality that could improve funding and strategic appeal, not as something to underwrite, given the low grade, the inferred status and prices already softening in China.

What are the risks, and which milestones will decide the next move?

Burke regards gold price risk as manageable at current favourable levels. Explicit 2025-2026 gold price levels were not in the research, and the assumption behind the resource is undisclosed, so you cannot test that comfort yourself.

On permitting, exploration permits are in place. Burke frames the remaining risk as time, not outcome, citing Yukon precedent for mines moving through approval.

Mike Burke, exploration director Permitting risk is mainly the time-value of money, with permits obtained eventually if a project is environmentally sound.

No Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) schedule or First Nation consultation details were found publicly. Financing is similar: the 2026 programme is described as fully funded, but amounts and instruments were not found.

Stage matters most. A Globe and Mail press-release summary dated 18 September 2026 says Sitka “plans to evaluate” a PEA, so significant further capital will be needed.

The likely sequence of milestones:

1. Remaining 2026 assays.
2. An updated resource estimate after the programme.
3. A PEA.
4. Permitting and consultation steps.

Items to look for in future releases:

• The gold price assumption behind the resource.
• Financing transactions.
• YESAB milestones.
• A third-party view on tungsten.

For you, the practical question is whether the next update upgrades inferred ounces and whether a PEA follows with transparent price and cost assumptions.

What a PEA might eventually show is visible in neighbouring results: a Yukon PEA from White Gold Corp paired a large after-tax NPV with a heavy capital bill, a reminder that headline returns depend on upfront cost.

Weighing the evidence before the next resource update

The case for attention is real: scale above 5 Moz, drilling momentum, outcropping deposits and road access. The case for caution is equally concrete: inferred-heavy resources, no PEA, undisclosed price assumptions and tungsten that is still early.

Before changing your view, check three things in the next update: the indicated share of the total, the gold price and cost assumptions, and any tungsten upgrade. A PEA is the point at which the thesis becomes testable. The company website carries its corporate presentation.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. These statements are speculative and subject to change based on market developments and company performance.