The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has accepted 18 new prospecting right applications covering extensions to projects in the alliance of exploration junior Japan Gold and senior bullion miner Barrick.

The applications cover extensions to the Barrick Alliance Mizobe and Onoyama-Yamagano projects.

The 18 new applications bring Japan Gold’s total coverage in the Hokusatsu region to a total of 100 452.8 ha, about 84% of prospective and explorable ground in the region.

Hokusatsu in southern Kyushu is Japan’s largest gold producing area with low-sulphidation epithermal deposits recording a combined production of more than 11-million ounces.

The Onoyama-Yamagano project is located along the prospective Hokusatsu volcanic front, north of the company's Ohra-Takamine project and the Barrick Alliance Mizobe-Onoyama project, and west of the historic Yamagano gold mine which produced about 910 000 oz of gold at a grade of 17.4 g/t.

Nine new applications on the western side of the Onoyama-Yamagano project were lodged to cover the western flank of a gravity-high feature which has been further defined by the Barrick Alliance project scale geophysical surveys.

The Mizobe project, which now incorporates the Mizobe first extension project, is located in the south-east corner of the Hokusatsu region and covers an area of gold-antimony anomalism associated with an extensive gravity-high feature that runs through the Mizobe project and into the north-east part of the Ohra-Takamine project. The nine new Mizobe West extension applications were similarly positioned to cover the south-west flanks of the gravity anomaly which are coincident with highly anomalous quartz veins, breccia, and sinter floats sampled in drainages on the western side of the Mizobe project and the south-west portion of the Mizobe-Onoyama project.

“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,” said Japan Gold.