Japan Gold expands exploration portfolio with two new projects

Canadian company Japan Gold has added two new projects in the Southern Kyushu province, expanding its epithermal gold exploration portfolio in Japan.

The Tobaru and Ohra-Takamine projects comprise alteration zones, as well as gold-silver mines in a prospective and relatively underexplored part of the province.

Together, the projects, which have been approved by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), comprise nine applications with a landholding of 3,028 hectares (ha).

With the approval, the company has earned the right to begin surface exploration on these projects.

Japan Gold chairman and CEO John Proust said: “We are pleased to acquire these new exploration projects in this world class gold-rich district of Japan.

“These new projects add significantly to our portfolio of high-quality exploration projects in productive and under-explored gold districts of Japan.”

The projects bring the company’s portfolio to 69,505ha over 17 different projects on the three main islands of the country.

Located in the northern most part of the Hokusatsu-Kushikino mining district, the Tobaru project comprises four applications for a total of 1,347ha.

The company noted that no historic production was recorded at the project.

Comprising five application blocks, the Ohra-Takamine project covers an aggregate of 1,681ha over the Takamine-Urushi, Takamine and Ohra mines.

According to estimates, the Takamine-Urushi mine produced 13,000oz of gold between 1896 and 1916, while the Takamine mine produced 9,654t of ore with average grades of 5.1g/t gold and 28.3g/t silver.