Japan Gold sinks 44% as Barrick exits exploration alliance
Shares of Japan Gold plunged 44% on Monday after the Vancouver-based explorer said Barrick Mining would walk away from their five-year strategic alliance in Japan.
The partnership, struck in 2020 to pursue potential Tier 1 or Tier 2 gold deposits across Japan, will formally conclude on October 31, 2025.
Barrick has provided about C$23.2-million in funding over the life of the alliance, which supported geochemical and geophysical surveys across Japan Gold’s 3 000 km2 portfolio and limited scout drilling.
Barrick selected three priority assets – Hakuryu, Togi and Ebino – but recent drilling, including eight holes totalling more than 3 000 m, has so far failed to deliver a discovery. Japan Gold said Barrick would relinquish all rights to its licences.
“Barrick's involvement with Japan Gold over the last five years reflects the growing international interest in Japan as an emerging country with the potential for the discovery of new gold deposits,” said Japan Gold chairperson and CEO John Proust. “Japan Gold remains well-funded and committed to advancing its projects.”
Barrick VP of exploration Joe Holliday praised Japan Gold’s “exceptional in-country expertise and operational excellence” in a separate statement.
Alongside the termination news, Japan Gold released results from drilling at the Ebino project in Kyushu. The three-hole programme intersected broad alteration zones typical of epithermal systems but no significant gold mineralisation. The company said the results would help refine targets for follow-up exploration.
Japan Gold plans to continue advancing projects in Kyushu and Hokkaido independently or through new partnerships.
The company's stock closed at C$0.12 a share.
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