Japan Gold expands portfolio

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed exploration junior Japan Gold has expanded its epithermal gold exploration portfolio in Japan with the addition of two new projects in the prospective Southern Kyushu epithermal gold province.

The Vancouver-headquartered company advised that the Tobaru and Ohra-Takamine projects cover alteration zones and historic gold/silver mines in a prospective and relatively underexplored part of the province.

The two projects comprise nine applications, or 3 028 ha, and have been accepted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The company now holds priority over these areas and is now authorised to start surface exploration on these projects.

With the addition of these new projects, the company's portfolio now comprises 69 505 ha over 17 separate projects on the three main islands of Japan.

The Tobaru and Ohra-Takamine projects are located within the significant gold-endowed Hokusatsu-Kushikino mining district, in the northern part of the Southern Kyushu epithermal gold province. More than ten-million ounces of gold have been produced from high-grade epithermal deposits of the district.

Notable producers within the district include: the Hishikari mine, with 7.1-million ounces produced to date at average grades of 30 g/t to 40 g/t gold; Kushikino mine, which produced 1.8-million ounces at 6.7 g/t; Yamagano mine, which produced 910 000 oz at 17.4 g/t gold; and the Ohkuchi mine, with 714 000 oz grading 13.6 g/t gold.