A new organization has been formed among seven key players in the Yukon's mining industry, it was announced today.

The Yukon Gold Mining Alliance will serve to enhance investment interest in the territory, says Scott Kent, the organization's chair.

"It was formed to complement the promotion and marketing already carried out by these individual companies in the Yukon,” Kent explained in an interview this morning.

"It was felt we could gain more by sharing resources.”

Kent emphasized the companies will remain independent of each other and continue on with their own business plans and marketing and investment efforts, but having a common voice at conferences and trade shows could generate much more interest.

Yukon Gold, for instance, will announce its launch in Vancouver at a meeting of investors on Feb. 11, the day before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The alliance has strict membership guidelines, he pointed out.

To be a member, Kent explained, the companies must have a mineral deposit that fits the definition of a mineral resource as defined by the Canadian Securities Commission; or must have spent $2.5 million annually in exploration or development in five

of the last seven years.

The seven member companies are: Alexco Resource Corp., Capstone Mining Corp., Western Copper Corp., Copper Ridge Explorations, Golden Predator Royalty and Development Corp., Northern Freegold Resources and Victoria Gold Corp.

Kent said he was asked to chair the new organization because he has no affiliation with any of the companies, and he brings with him experience as a former minister of Economic Development, as a past member of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-

economic Assessment Board and as the recent executive director for the Yukon Chamber of Mines.

He was a minister in former Liberal premier Pat Duncan's 2000-02 government.

The alliance, Kent added, will maintain an office in Vancouver near the investment community, with a staff of one.

The Yukon, and companies in the business and the supply-service network, will benefit as a whole from the organization's additional efforts to drum up investor interest in the Yukon, he said.

"These (seven) companies are always looking for investors to invest in their properties,” Kent said.

"They may be at different stages of development but they are all chasing investor dollars both nationally and internationally.”