Japan Gold (TSX-V:JG) Corp reported promising results from its 2022 work programs completed over the Kitano-o Gold District within the Ikutahara project, in northern Hokkaido.
The Canadian mineral exploration company said the 2022 work programs included completion of an extensive soil geochemical survey covering 1,710 hectares and three scout drill holes on the east side of the Kitano-o prospect.
A total of 1,597 composite soil samples were collected along a 7 kilometer (km) long section of a major deep-seated graben fault, which binds the east side of the district, said the company. The district hosts numerous historical mines and workings, the most notable of which include the Kitano-o mine which produced over 96,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 5.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) and the Showa and the Ikutahara mines.
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Japan Gold (TSX-V:JG) reported that analytical results from the recently-completed soil survey have identified several significant gold anomalies with supporting pathfinder element and alteration signatures up to 1.5 km in length, which remain open ended.
The company also highlighted the following:
- Clay alteration interpreted from spectral analysis along with geological mapping supports the soil generated anomalies and indicates full preservation of up to three epithermal systems across the district;
- Drilling to date has targeted depth extensions of gold-rich eluvial placer and sub-sinter veins but has not yielded a source for the significant amount of gold precipitated at the paleo-surface. It is now interpreted that these gold-rich paleo-surface expressions are de-coupled from boiling zones developed at depth;
- Gravity defined structures, CSAMT, geological mapping and drill core have provided a structural foundation supporting the new soil results and define new untested zones for further advancement to drill targeting.
- These anomalous zones are aligned along northeast and east-southeast trending structures akin to the orientation of those, which host the 2.35-million-ounce Konomai vein deposits located 25 km to the northwest.
"We are pleased with the results and conclusions from the extensive soil grid and additional drilling across the Kitano-o District. Critical gaps in the data set have now been filled and define three open-ended anomalous zones up to 1.5 km long that mimic the structural setting of the large Konomai veins located along the same graben to the northwest,” said Japan Gold CEO John Proust.
“We now have a clearer interpretation which is guiding the targeting of boiling zones that generated the gold-rich paleo-surface placers at Kitano-o and Ikutahara," he added.
Investors can read about the company’s detailed soil results here.
Japan Gold plans to expand the soil grid over areas where anomalies lie open ended, both to the west and the south, towards the Saroma prospect. Focused CSAMT and gravity surveys are planned to cover the new anomalous zones to add additional information on the geometry of alteration and structure to support drill targeting.
Investors can also read about the outcomes from the 2022 drilling on the east side of the Kitano-o prospect here.
Japan Gold is focused solely on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu. It holds a portfolio of 32 gold projects which cover areas with known gold occurrences, a history of mining and are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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