Bill Sheriff believes the Yukon's population will hit 200,000 to 250,000 in 10 or 15 years, and people need to start talking out it.

The territory is at the beginning of another gold rush that isn't going to go away, said the president of Golden Predator Corp. The exploration and mining company has just moved into the Yukon – alongside scores of other companies.

Sheriff said in an interview Friday the Yukon is currently among the top three jurisdictions in the world when it comes to the ability to raise money for mineral exploration.

Sheriff said the same gold mining boom Alaska has experienced over the last two decades since major discoveries were made in the late 1980s is just beginning here.

Gold deposits in Alaska's portion of the Tintina Trench have led to a handful of successful mines like Pogo and Fort Knox, he pointed out.

Sheriff said the same geology that has driven Alaska's success exists in the Yukon, and companies are just now lifting the lid on what is likely to be another gold boom here.

Three years ago, there were eight to 10 exploration companies active in the territory, he said.

Today, emphasized Sheriff, there are 122.

"And I fully expect that number will probably climb to 200 by the end of this summer.”

Sheriff said he's predicting a population of 250,000 in 15 years.

But even if he's wrong, and the growth is just half that, there will be a significant impact on the Yukon that will require some planning, and Yukoners need to begin talking about it, he warns.

The Golden Predator president said the price of gold at $1,347 US an ounce is a factor in the exploration rush that saw 83,261 new quartz claims staked last year, up from 16,000 the year before.

But it's not the most significant factor, he said.

Sheriff said the change in the regulatory regime over the last few years, recent success in exploration and the settlement of most aboriginal land claims are the primary reasons behind the Yukon's attractiveness.

The buoyant price of gold is the same across the world but yet it is the Yukon which is among the top three jurisdictions to invest money in, he emphasized.

Sheriff pointed out that until a few years ago, when the rules changed for staking mineral claims, for instance, companies were only able to lump 12 claims together for the purpose of filing assessment work.

(Work done on one claim could be used to offset annual fees for the remaining 11 claims.)

Today, he pointed out, companies can lump together up to 750.

Sheriff said the modern day gold rush is being driven by the realization that the geology in the Tintina Trench that led to Alaska's prosperity in the gold mining sector over the last two decades stretches into Yukon.

Companies like his are just now at the beginning the boom that started across the border in the late 1980s, he said.

Sheriff said the exploration boom the Yukon is experiencing right now may go through some peaks and valleys in coming years.

But generally speaking, the territory is just now entering what will be a thriving mineral exploration and mining industry for the the foreseeable future, he insisted

"The genie is out of the bottle, and it's not going back in this time.”