Copper-Gold Exploration in the Yukon: How Yukon Metals Is Building Its Next Discovery Pipeline

The Yukon has long been known for gold, but a new generation of explorers is looking at the territory through a wider lens. Copper-gold exploration in the Yukon is attracting attention as geologists test large mineralized systems that have seen limited modern work. One company at the center of that effort is Yukon Metals (CSE: YMC), a Vancouver-based exploration company with a growing portfolio of copper, gold, silver, and critical metals projects across the territory.

This article explains what drives interest in the region, how Yukon Metals approaches its work, and why its AZ and Birch projects are worth following.

Why Copper-Gold Exploration in the Yukon Matters

Copper is a core material in power grids, electrical wiring, and the equipment used to generate and move energy. Gold continues to hold value as both a monetary and industrial metal. Deposits that contain both can be especially interesting, because one mineralizing system may support more than one commodity. That is part of the appeal of porphyry and skarn systems, the deposit styles being tested at Yukon Metals’ lead projects.

The Yukon adds further reasons to look closely. Several promising areas sit near existing infrastructure such as the Alaska Highway, and modern tools now let explorers see what earlier generations could not. UAV magnetic surveys, induced polarization (IP) geophysics, and diamond drilling all help define targets beneath frost-heaved ground and shallow cover. For anyone following copper-gold exploration in the Yukon, the mix of accessible ground and better technology is a strong backdrop.

About Yukon Metals: A Yukon-Focused Exploration Company

Yukon Metals is a well-financed exploration company that owns 100% of its projects. Its stated focus is discovery: finding and advancing high-grade systems that can grow into district-scale opportunities.

A Family Legacy of Prospecting

The company is built on more than 30 years of prospecting by the Berdahl family. That long record in the territory matters in exploration, where local knowledge of terrain, historic workings, and overlooked ground often shapes which properties are worth staking. At Birch, for example, the claims were dropped by earlier explorers before being re-staked by the Berdahl family, who then applied modern methods to a property with a long exploration history.

A Portfolio Built for Scale

Yukon Metals now reports a 19-project portfolio covering more than 62,000 hectares, with exposure to copper, gold, silver, and critical metals. The company closed a C$13 million financing in June 2026, a milestone that supports continued field work. While it advances priority drill targets at AZ, Birch, and Star River, it is also running generative exploration across the rest of its ground to build the next set of discovery opportunities.

The AZ Project: A Large-Scale Copper-Gold Opportunity

The AZ project covers 13,110 hectares in western Yukon, about 6 kilometres south of the Alaska Highway. Yukon Metals owns it outright, and the property’s size gives the team room to test several targets at once.

Surface Evidence of a Hydrothermal System

Exploration at AZ centers on Chair Mountain, where a prominent zone of orange, iron-stained rock has been followed for 1.2 kilometres. During a September 2024 mapping and sampling program, 18 of 60 rock-chip samples returned significant copper, ranging from 0.12% to 3.49% Cu. Later prospecting across the property produced samples as high as 26.0% Cu and 5.73 g/t Au.

Geologists also noted hematite alteration, which can be associated with oxidized hydrothermal fluids, a feature linked to major porphyry copper deposits. The large gossan and mineralized veins point to a substantial hydrothermal system moving fluids through faults and fractures on the mountain. These are early indicators rather than a resource estimate, but they explain why AZ has become a priority.

Drilling Progress and the Viper Prospect

Yukon Metals began its inaugural AZ drill program in 2025, completing five diamond drill holes totaling 1,500 metres by July. Core from one hole in a newly tested area showed visible copper mineralization within altered diorite, including quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veining. A technical report on the property was completed under National Instrument 43-101 standards in late 2025.

Work has continued in 2026. In August, a UAV magnetic survey revealed an untested convergence zone at AZ. In October, the company confirmed a new copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry-style system at the Viper prospect. For readers tracking copper-gold exploration in the Yukon, Viper is a good example of how systematic surveying can open fresh targets on a property that is already advancing.

The Birch Project: A Skarn System Taking Shape

Birch is a 7,000-hectare property located within sight of Burwash Landing and close to the Alaska Highway. Yukon Metals owns 100% of it, and the company has described it as having potential for porphyry-style mineralization alongside its skarn discoveries.

Geology and Exploration History

The property sits largely within the Finlayson assemblage of the Yukon-Tanana Terrane, a package of schist, quartzite, marble, and related rocks. Historic exploration began in 1972 with molybdenum discoveries in quartz veins, and later work by another operator added soil sampling, geophysics, and shallow drilling. Yukon Metals then compiled that data, ran its own soil and mapping programs in 2024, and used the results to prioritize drill targets. Surface sampling at Birch has returned rock chips as high as 2.42% Cu and 14.1 g/t Au, and a soil anomaly of up to 0.99 g/t Au extends across 1,400 metres.

Recent Drilling Results

In 2025, the company completed 1,100 metres of diamond drilling across three pads, to depths of up to 400 metres. Every hole intersected mineralized skarn horizons, which form along marble-schist contacts and intrusive margins. Mineralization appeared as near as 25 metres from surface in places, and one thick interval of skarn-altered rock was logged between 256.5 and 302.5 metres. True thicknesses were not known at that stage.

More recent results continue the story. On October 1, 2026, Yukon Metals reported 23.5 metres of 0.48 g/t gold and 0.11% copper near surface, extending the Birch skarn system to roughly one kilometre of drilled strike. A technical report on the project was filed in June 2026, and in September the company identified new IP targets 2 kilometres south of the skarn discovery.

Generative Exploration Beyond AZ and Birch

Drilling gets the headlines, but long-term discovery depends on what happens before the rig arrives. Yukon Metals’ generative exploration program applies mapping, geochemistry, and geophysics across its wider portfolio to identify the next set of drill-ready projects. Its project list already includes properties such as Expo, Fairway, Nut, and Risby, along with a growing tungsten position that expanded in July 2026 with the staking of the historic Tummel tungsten showing.

This approach spreads risk across many targets. It also means that when one project advances, the company already has others being prepared behind it.

Working With Yukon Communities

Exploration companies operate on land that matters deeply to local people, and Yukon Metals states a commitment to inclusive growth and shared prosperity. The company has engaged Yukon-based and First Nation-owned contractors, including Vision Quest Drilling and Käganì, both owned by Kluane First Nation citizens, as well as Yukon-based Capital Helicopters. At Star River, the company has an exploration agreement with the Ross River Dene Council. These partnerships keep economic activity close to the communities where the work takes place.

What Makes Yukon Metals Worth Watching

Several features set the company’s story apart:

• Yukon-only focus, backed by decades of local prospecting experience

• 100% ownership of its projects

• Multiple advancing systems, including AZ, Birch, and Star River

• Regular, project-specific updates through news releases and technical reports

None of this guarantees a discovery, since exploration is inherently uncertain. But transparent reporting and a methodical, data-led approach give readers a clear way to follow progress.

Conclusion

Copper-gold exploration in the Yukon is entering an exciting chapter, and Yukon Metals is positioned to be part of it. With a large AZ property showing signs of a major hydrothermal system, a Birch skarn that continues to extend with drilling, and a deep pipeline of earlier-stage projects, the company offers a window into how modern exploration works in practice.

To learn more, visit yukonmetals.com to explore the project pages, download the latest corporate presentation, and subscribe to company updates. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.