Government of Yukon Provides Incentives for Mineral Exploration

WHITEHORSE, YUKON--(Marketwired - Jan. 26, 2015) - The Yukon government is assisting the mineral industry by providing double the value for filed mineral exploration work on claims for the next year, starting February 1st. This extra credit to claimholders will assist in keeping their claims in good standing.

"Doubling the value of credited work helps recognize the importance of exploration in Yukon," Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Scott Kent said from the Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver. "Our hope is this will encourage companies to conduct work on their mining claims, which in turn stimulates the local economy."

Minister Kent also informed industry delegates that he will be continuing the enhanced level of funding for the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program (YMEP) for the coming fiscal year.

"Exploration and development has slowed since the peak activity of 2011. That's why programs like the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program are so important - it's a valuable source of seed money for prospectors and junior companies," Kent said.

YMEP is the oldest continuing prospectors' assistance program in Canada. For the 2014/15 fiscal year, the $1.4 million-dollar program supported 51 exploration projects. With that YMEP funding in place, companies running these 37 hard rock and 14 placer projects leveraged an estimated $2.1 million in additional industry investment.

"This initiative supports grassroots exploration programs that have traditionally been the most effective at locating and evaluating significant mineral deposits," Kent added.