Japan Gold names former Newcrest executive as President, COO
Japan Gold Corp. [JG-TSXV, JGLDF-OTCQB] on Wednesday announced the appointment of Fraser MacCorquodale as President and Chief Operating Officer, effective March 1, 2024.
From 2008 to 2023 MacCorquodale served as the General Manager for Exploration at Newcrest Mining Ltd., a company that was recently swallowed by Newmont Corp. [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE] in a US$16.8 billion buyout deal. Newcrest was an Australian company with significant mining operations in Canada, including British Columbia’s Golden Triangle region.
“We are pleased to have attracted such a strong and accomplished technical leader to drive value in our projects during an exciting growth phase for Japan Gold,’’ said John Proust, Chairman and CEO of Japan Gold. “Fraser’s strong targeting skills, based on a deep technical knowledge of epithermal gold and porphyry-gold deposits and his team development and leadership skills, will be instrumental as we continue to explore Japan Gold’s 35 projects spread over 3,000 square kilometres,’’ he said.
On Wednesday Japan Gold shares were unchanged at $0.08 The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of 27 cents and $0.065.
Japan Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration company with a focus on Japan’s three largest islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu. The portfolio of 34 gold projects cover areas with known gold occurrences and a history of mining. These projects are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization.
The company has a country-wide alliance with Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE] to jointly explore, develop and mine certain gold mineral properties and mining projects.
The Barrick Alliance recently completed a successful two-and-a-half-year country-wide screening program of 29 projects and has selected six with the potential to host Tier 1 and Tier 2 gold ore bodies for further advancement, and two more recently acquired projects and three project extensions for initial evaluation.
Japan Gold was the first foreign company to be granted mineral exploration licenses in Japan since World War 11.
In 1943, at the height of the war, Japan placed a moratorium on gold mining, directing all of its companies to the war effort. It meant that mining engineers could be redirected to base metal mines in support of the war effort. Following the war, very few of the mines resumed production, resulting in a hiatus in exploration.
But that was before the Global economic crisis in 2008 and the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster created the need for economic stimulus and a change in the law in 2012, when foreign companies were permitted to operate independently in Japan.
The Mizobe Project was the most active of the Barrick Alliance projects during 2023, with seven drill holes completed, consisting of three initial framework drill holes in the second quarter and four follow up holes in the fourth quarter, covering 2,416 metres. The 2024 work program is expected to include a ground magnetic survey, detailed structural interpretation and a revised geological model to vector toward high grade mineralization.