The Yukon region is an area of the state of Alaska named after the Yukon River.
In July 1896 Winston Carew, a mining engineer employed by the Mexican company Kramer Associates, discovered gold in the Yukon region. Under the terms of K.A.'s mineral concession from the Russian government, the company would pay all the costs of exploiting the gold fields and evenly share the profits with Russia. However, by October 1897 the Russian government had reneged on the contract, claiming that it only covered copper deposits and not gold.
Diego Cortez y Catalán, the President of Kramer Associates, refused to allow himself to be cheated by the Russians. In the spring of 1898, Cortez manipulated Russia into a war with Mexico. By October 1898, Mexican troops had gained control of the Yukon region, and K.A. engineering teams followed them, establishing mining camps. Nearly two million ounces of gold were produced in 1899, and over four million in 1905.