Japan Gold Corp (TSX-V:JG) has announced the retirement of Mitsuhiko Yamada as a member of its board and representing director of Japan Gold KK, the company's wholly-owned operating subsidiary, and also announced the appointment of Takashi Kuriyama to its board of directors.
Going forward, the company said Yamada will join the Japan Gold Board of Advisors. The company announced that John Proust, its chairman and CEO will succeed Yamada in his role as representing director of Japan Gold KK.
In a statement, Proust said: "Mr Yamada was a founding director of Japan Gold and has provided invaluable guidance to the company in its quest to restart the gold mining industry in Japan. His insight and knowledge have guided Japan Gold as the pioneer in the industry and the company's significant accomplishments to date. We thank Mr Yamada for his service and wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement."
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Japan Gold said Kuriyama, who joined Japan Gold KK as general manager Exploration in 2017, will be appointed to its board of directors, effective January 1, 2023. Kuriyama was appointed an officer of Japan Gold Corp in 2019 and became a director of Japan Gold KK in 2020.
Previously he served in increasingly senior roles with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd from 1974 until his retirement from Sumitomo in 2016 as general manager of its Global Exploration and Development Department.
During his career at Sumitomo, Kuriyama had the role of Exploration and Geology manager at Sumitomo's Hishikari Gold Mine in Kyushu, southern Japan, and subsequently held senior exploration positions in Australia, Canada and the United States of America. In the roles of executive vice president of Sumitomo Metal Mining America Inc and managing director of Sumitomo Metal Mining Oceania Pty Ltd, he oversaw the development of the Northparkes Copper and Gold Mine in Australia and the Pogo Gold Mine in Alaska.
During his career with Sumitomo, Kuriyama was also seconded to Japanese Government organizations, serving as councilor at the Metals Exploration Group of the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and director at the Joint Venture Exploration Division for the Metal Mining Agency of Japan (MMAJ). In addition, he served as a director of Teck Resources Limited from 2006 until 2016.
Proust commented: "Mr Kuriyama has been outstanding as general manager, Exploration of Japan Gold and we believe his impressive local knowledge and international insight will be instrumental in strengthening and complementing our board of directors."
Japan Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused solely on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu. It also has a country-wide alliance with major Barrick Gold Corp to jointly explore, develop and mine certain gold mineral properties and mining projects.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com