TSX-V-listed junior Japan Gold has announced the formation of a country-wide alliance with gold major Barrick Gold to jointly explore, develop and mine certain mineral properties and projects in Japan.
The alliance covers 28 of the 30 projects currently held by Japan Gold, which will only advance the Ikutahara project, in Hokkaido, and the Ohra-Takamine project, in Kyushu, independently.
In terms of the agreement, Barrick will sole fund a two-year initial evaluation phase of each project and also a three-year second evaluation phase on projects that meet the major’s criteria.
Barrick CEO Mark Bristow commented that Japan Gold had an "impressive" portfolio of projects.
Japan Gold chairperson and CEO John Proust said that Barrick’s global experience of operating 15 mines on four continents, combined with Japan Gold’s in-country knowledge made an “ideal partnership to advance the gold mining industry in Japan”.
“Every great new frontier starts with geology. Japan is an ideal, underexplored setting to make new large low sulphidation epithermal gold discoveries, building on the great success of Sumitomo Metal Mining's Hishikari gold mine,” Proust said.
The Hishikari mine has produced 7.8-million ounces to date, at an average grade of 30 g/t to 40 g/t.
Meanwhile, in conjunction with the Barrick alliance, Japan Gold also announced that it had acquired six new projects in the northern part of the Southern Kyushu epithermal gold province. It now holds a dominant position in the district, which hosts most of the low-sulphidation epithermal mineralisation in the province.
The company holds priority over 94 402 ha, comprising 15 projects in southern Kyushu and a total of 30 projects (176 370 ha) across the three main islands of Japan.
The Barrick alliance propped up Japan Gold’s share price by 9.38% to C$0.35 a share.