The company has now grown its coverage in the Hokusatsu region in Japan to 100,452ha
Japan Gold wins rights to 18 new prospecting areas across the Hokusatsu Region. (Credit: Alex Banner from Pixabay)
Japan Gold has secured rights to 18 new prospecting areas in the Hokusatsu Region in Japan to expand the projects under its alliance with Barrick Alliance.
The new licences cover extensions to the Barrick Alliance, Mizobe and Onoyama-Yamagano projects in the region.
The Canada-based mineral exploration company won the rights for the areas following the acceptance of its applications by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
The Hokusatsu Region of Southern Kyushu is said to be the largest gold producing area in Japan, having produced a total of more than 11 million ounces.
Japan Gold has now taken its total coverage in the region to 100,452.8ha, of which nearly 84% is prospective and explorable ground.
Overall, the firm’s portfolio has been expanded to 202,926.2ha across Japan’s five major epithermal gold provinces located within the islands of Kyushu, Honshu, and Hokkaido.
Nine applications lodged for Onoyama-Yamagano project
Of the 18 applications, nine have been lodged for the western side of the Onoyama-Yamagano project. These cover the western flank of a gravity-high feature which has been further defined by geophysical surveys undertaken by the Japan Gold-Barrick alliance.
The other nine applications are for areas near the Mizobe project. Japan Gold said that the applications for areas in the western side of the project have taken the Mizobe Project acreage to 7,579.5ha.
Japan Gold stated: “As the Barrick Alliance programs advance, we will continue to expand the portfolio based on the identification of key prospectivity indicators throughout the gold provinces of Japan.”
The company had entered into an alliance with Barrick Gold in February 2020 for multiple gold assets across the Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu islands. Japan Gold contributed 28 out of its 30 projects to the alliance, that span across 152,152ha.
Subsequently, the alliance had been expanded to 30 projects. The partners had completed geochemical sampling for 20 of the projects, as of early December 2020.