Japan Gold (TSX-V:JG) Corp has updated on its alliance with major Barrick Gold Corp over exploration in the east Asian country, revealing that the initial two-year evaluation phase by the latter has been extended by six months.
The country-wide partnership covers 29 project areas, larger than when it was formed in February 2020, and Barrick has agreed to sole fund an initial phase for each project for two years and after that only those which meet its criteria in a second phase.
For the period to end-2021, the mining major spent US$5.6 million on the initial phase and has now requested an extension to August 31 this year, due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
"We appreciate Barrick's thorough and systematic approach toward the evaluation of the 29 projects included in the Barrick Alliance," noted John Proust, CEO of Japan Gold in a statement.
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"The 42% increase in the area of the portfolio is primarily a result of the identification of over 40 gold anomalies in areas of interest, generated by the work completed over the past 2 years and associated expansion of the project areas. This bodes well for the prospectivity in these areas. We look forward to diligently completing the Barrick Alliance project evaluations and supporting Barrick's decision on the projects that will be advanced to the Second Evaluation Phase," he added.
Japan Gold noted that the alliance has defined "several significant" areas of interest (AOI's) across the Hokusatsu region in southern Kyushu, and the Kitami Region in north Hokkaido, and is now finalizing staged work programs for these AOI's to be completed over the next six months.
Initial work programs of geochemical sampling and geophysical gravity surveys, have been completed over the majority of the 2,113 square kilometre (sq km) Barrick Alliance portfolio.
Joel Holliday, Barrick's executive vice-president (EVP) of exploration, commented: "Our aim has been to evaluate and screen the full potential of these areas before becoming too focused on specific targets, so it is very rewarding to see the work defining some exciting target areas for the next phase of more detailed work."
Japan Gold is focused on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan - Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu. It holds a portfolio of 31 gold projects (29 under the above alliance) which cover areas with known gold occurrences, a history of mining and are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com