February 05, 2018 – Vancouver, BC – Japan Gold Corp. (TSX-V: JG) (OTCQB: JGLDF) (“Japan Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to report results from its first scout drill holes completed in late December 2017 on the Akebono prospect at its Ikutahara Project in Hokkaido, Northern Japan.
The following intersections downhole were returned from the targeted epithermal quartz vein:
IKDD003: 0.45 m (true width 0.37 m) @ 29.7 g/t Au and 77g/t Ag from 39.1 m
and
IKDD001: 0.4 m (true width 0.39 m) @ 4.6 g/t Au and 107g/t Ag from 17.25 m
These results support the presence of high grade gold shoots in the Akebono vein system previously indicated by historic sampling of underground workings (refer to Japan Gold’s news release dated February 2017: Japan Gold Completes 2016 Field Program..).
Obtaining these results represents significant milestones for the Company, firstly supporting high gold and silver grades at the Akebono prospect and secondly proving that Japan Gold can successfully work through the Japanese regulatory and permitting system from licence application acceptance to granting of prospecting rights and gaining approval for its first drill program.
The Akebono prospect is located in the northeast corner of the Company’s Ikutahara Project within one of 23 prospecting rights blocks granted by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (“METI”). A further 15 of the 56 Ikutahara licenses are currently under process by METI and the company expects that these will be granted in 2018 to allow drilling on other key prospects.
Surface mapping conducted by the Company during 2016 and 2017 identified a northeast trending vein system with widths up to four metres and an open-ended strike length of over 770 metres based on the alignment of workings, sporadic vein outcrops, subcrops and vein float, refer to Figure 1.
The scout program at Akebono planned up to six drill holes totalling 1,000 m. Drilling commenced in late November, however abnormally severe winter conditions in Hokkaido at the end of December meant the program was suspended after 3 drill holes totalling 333.6 m. It is expected the program will be completed following the spring thaw.
These first holes were positioned to confirm historic high-grade underground sampling. Drill hole collar locations are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. IKUTAHARA PROJECT – Akebono ProspectDrill-hole Details
| Hole ID | mE(UTM) | mN(UTM) | Mrl | Dip(collar) | Azimuth (mag.) | Depth(m) |
| IKDD001IKDD002IKDD003 | 709,550709,570709,569 | 4,870,0574,870,0464,870,046 | 343337337 | -500-650-750 | 299028102810 | 197.571.864.3 |
Table 2. IKUTAHARA PROJECT – Akebono Prospect
Significantly Mineralized Drill Intercepts
| Hole ID | From (m) | To(m) | Length (m) | TrueWidth(m) | Au(g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Lithology | CoreRecovery |
| IKDD001 | 16.95 | 17.25 | 0.30 | 0.29 | 0.13 | 17 | QVN | 100% |
| 17.25 | 17.65 | 0.40 | 0.39 | 4.60 | 107 | QVN/STK | 100% | |
| including | ||||||||
| 17.25 | 17.55 | 0.30 | 0.29 | 6.08 | 43.6 | QVN | 100% | |
| 17.55 | 17.65 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.22 | 296 | STK | 100% | |
| 17.65 17.95 |
17.95 18.10 |
0.30 0.15 |
0.29 0.14 |
0.56 0.32 |
8.8 31.3 |
QVN STK |
100% 100% |
|
| IKDD002 | Redrilled as hole IKDD003 due to poor core recovery in vein zone | |||||||
| IKDD003 | 38.80 | 39.10 | 0.30 | 0.25 | NS | NS | NC | 0% |
| 39.10 | 39.55 | 0.45 | 0.37 | 29.70 | 77 | QVN | 91% | |
| 39.55 | 40.00 | 0.45 | 0.37 | 0.38 | 6 | QVN | 89% | |
| Notes: QVN – quartz vein, STK – stockwork, NS – no sample, NC – no core recovered | ||||||||
Drill hole IKDD001 (azimuth 299o, dip -50o) targeted the upper portion of the Akebono vein approximately 25 m below surface. Ending at a depth of 197.5 m. This drill hole cut Mesozoic basement metasediments along its length. The main Akebono vein zone was intersected between 16.95 m and 18.1 m downhole and comprised partly oxidized quartz stockworks and bladed epithermal quartz veins up to 0.5 m wide. The best mineralised interval gave 0.4 m @ 4.6 g/t Au and 107 g/t Ag from 17.25 m, refer to long section and cross section Figures 2 and 3.
Drill hole IKDD002 (azimuth 281o, dip -65o) planned to test 25 m below IKDD001. An inferred 1.5 m wide quartz vein zone was intersected from 36.5 m depth however due to bad ground conditions unacceptably poor core recovery was obtained and this hole was abandoned and redrilled on a slightly steeper dip as IKDD003.
Drill hole IKDD003 intersected a 0.9 m wide vein from 39.1 m to 40.0 m of partly oxidized banded and bladed epithermal quartz with dark sulphide rich banding. The best mineralised interval from this zone returned 0.45 m @ 29.7 g/t Au and 77g/t Ag from 39.1 m. No core was recovered from the 30 cm interval preceding this vein intersection.
On completion of these three drill holes the program was suspended due to abnormal extreme winter conditions and it was decided to postpone further drilling at Akebono until to spring 2018.
John Proust, Chairman and CEO and of Japan Gold, stated, “The Akebono program has been a successful testing ground for the Company’s operations in Japan, having worked through first-mover challenges of permitting, administration, and advancing the field activities to drilling. Experiences learned here are helping to fast track permitting of future programs. The Akebono target was the first prospect selected for drill testing as it was the first fully permitted and easily accessible. Additional drilling here is being planned for spring 2018. The Company is aggressively pursuing permitting for drilling at other higher priority prospects throughout the Ikutahara project for drilling in 2018.”
Sampling Techniques and Assaying
The results discussed in this news release are from drill core samples obtained by PQ and HQ-size triple-tube diamond core drilling using two PMC400 man-portable drill rigs owned by SAMJ and operated by Sumiko Resources Exploration & Development Co., Ltd. (a wholly owned exploration services subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.) The drilling program was fully supervised by SAMJ senior project geologists at the drilling site.
Drill core was collected in wooden core-trays at the drill site and transported by road in company vehicles to its core shed storage facility in Ikutahara Township, located next to the project area. The drill core was carefully logged, photographed and sample intervals marked-up along predicted mineralized and selected unmineralized intervals by SAMJ senior project geologists.
Sample lengths varied from 0.1 to 1.5 m; depending on the positions of mineralized/unmineralized contacts and any variations in vein texture and composition. The core was split in-half with a petrol-driven diamond-blade saw by the senior project geologists. Half-core sample was collected from the entire length of each designated sample interval and placed into individual-labelled, self-sealing calico bags for secure packaging and transport to the laboratory. The half-core samples weighed between 1 to 8 kg depending on the sample length and core size. A Chain-of-Custody was established between the Company and receiving laboratory to ensure the integrity of the samples during transportation from site to the lab. The samples were sent in two separate batches to ALS Chemex (Vancouver) and ALS Chemex (Guangzhou) for sample preparation and assaying.
Samples were crushed, completely pulverised and assayed for gold 50 g charge Fire Assay/ AAS Finish (Au-AA26; 0.01 ppm detection limit) and silver by multi-acid digest and either AAS determination (Ag-AA61; 0.5 ppm detection limit) or ICP-AES determination (Ag-OG62; 1 ppm detection limit).
Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) were inserted by SAMJ at every 10th sample to assess repeatability and assaying precision of the laboratory. In addition, the laboratory applied its own internal Quality Control procedure that includes sample duplicates, blanks & geochemical standards. They report these results with the certified Assay Report. Laboratory procedures and QAQC protocols adopted are considered appropriate. The CRMs and internal QC-QA results fall within acceptable levels of accuracy & precision and are considered to lack any bias. No external assay checks at an alternative laboratory have been done to date.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Japan Gold’s President & Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Mike Andrews, PhD, FAusIMM, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
On behalf of the Board of Japan Gold Corp.
“John Proust”
Chairman & CEO
About Japan Gold Corp.
Japan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused solely on gold and copper-gold exploration in Japan. The Company has applied for 210 prospecting rights licenses in Japan for a combined area of 69,505 hectares over 17 separate projects. Thirty-two of the applications have already been granted as Prospecting Rights. The applications cover areas with known gold occurrences and a history of mining. Thirteen of the 17 projects are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization. Four of the 17 projects were selected because of the identification of gold-bearing lithocaps, which could indicate the presence of buried porphyry copper-gold mineralization. Japan Gold’s leadership team has decades of resource industry and business experience, and the Company has recruited geologists and technical advisors with experience exploring and operating in Japan. More information is available at www.japangold.com or by email at
Japan Gold Contact
John Proust
Chairman & CEO
Phone: 778-725-1491
Email:
Cautionary Note
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains forward looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the Company’s ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.
Figure 1: Akebono Geology Map with Vein Interpretation, Drill Hole Trace and Mineralised Intervals
Figure 2: Akebono Long Section with Historic Workings and Sampling Results with 2017 Drill Hole Pierce Points and Mineralised Intervals
Figure 3: Akebono Cross Section through Drill Holes IKDD001, 002 and 003 with Mineralised Intervals