Japan Gold (TSX-V:JG) Corp told investors it has started drilling at the Saroma prospect within its wholly-owned Ikutahara project in Hokkaido with an initial four scout holes planned.
Mapping around shallow historical workings at Saroma has identified vein zones up to 7 metres (m) wide and the holes will target deeper extensions along a 1 kilometre (km) long section of the Saroma vein.
"It is great to be drilling another new target from our vast portfolio of properties covering the most prospective epithermal regions of Japan," said John Proust, the CEO of the company.
"I am very encouraged by the results our exploration teams are delivering to identify further drill targets which may lead to future discoveries."
The Saroma prospect lies 4 km south of the Kitano-o gold mine, and the historic Saroma, Taiho and Chitose gold workings were developed on epithermal veins.
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Operated during the 1930s, records show the Saroma mine produced 13,189 tons of ore at an average grade of 9.7 grams per ton (g/t) gold between 1933 and 1939.
There are no production records from the Taiho and Chitose workings, however, record show that mining began in these two areas immediately prior to the 1943 gold mining moratorium in Japan.
Japan Gold is focused solely on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan - Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu. It has a country-wide alliance with Barrick Gold to jointly explore, develop and mine certain gold mineral properties and mining projects.
It holds a portfolio of 31 gold projects which cover areas with known gold occurrences, a history of mining and are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization.
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com