Japan's Gold Comeback Puts Spotlight on Explorer Drilling the 'Land of Gold'

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1. As of the date of this article, officers, contractors, shareholders, and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Irving Resources Inc.
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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Key Investor Takeaways

• High gold prices and a weak yen are reviving exploration in Japan, which has one active gold mine and produced about 4 tonnes of gold in 2024, according to Nikkei Asia.
• Irving has projects on three of Japan's main islands, each with a large partner: JX Advanced Metals at Omu in Hokkaido, and Newmont and Sumitomo Corp. at Yamagano in Kagoshima and the Noto project on the Noto Peninsula.
• At Omu, hole 26OMS-002 returned 47.7 meters grading 0.98 g/t gold and 68.96 g/t silver in June, including 1.05 meters of 10.68 g/t gold. Four drill rigs are now working, and Irving expects a permit for deeper holes within weeks.
• The zone below about 50 meters below sea level at Omu Sinter is outside the JX option and remains 100% controlled by Irving.
• At the Unoya target on Noto, a float sample assayed 62.3 g/t gold and 604 g/t silver. Soil results are pending, and the joint venture is considering drilling in 2027.
• A JX Advanced Metals representative told Nikkei Asia that commercial production at Omu would probably not start until the 2030s.
• Newsletter writer Chen Lin wrote on September 30 that he believes Irving "is a Buy" at the current price.

Explorers Return to Marco Polo's 'Land of Gold'

Japan, which Marco Polo once described as a "land of gold," is drawing gold explorers again as high prices and a weak yen revive interest in its long-idle mining districts, Nikkei Asia reported on September 24. Foreign and domestic companies are looking for the metal in the ground and in urban waste.

Among them is Irving Resources Inc. (IRV:CSE; IRVRF:OTCQX), a Canadian explorer drilling in Hokkaido with JX Advanced Metals Corp. (5016:TSE; JXADF:OTCPK) and working two other historic gold districts with Newmont Corp. (NEM:NYSE; NEM:ASX; NEM:PNGX) and Sumitomo Corp. (8053:TSE; SSUMF:OTCPK).

Irving works in Japan through a wholly owned local subsidiary, Irving Resources Japan GK, which is staffed by veterans of Japan's mining sector, according to the company.

"Japan still has a lot of room for exploration," Shuichi Miyatake, vice president of exploration at Irving Japan, told Nikkei Asia.

From Edo-Era Powerhouse to One Active Mine

During the Edo period, from the 17th to 19th centuries, Japan is said to have produced about 20% of the world's gold, about half of it from Sado Island, Nikkei Asia reported.

Later, "mines were closed one after another, due mainly to ore depletion," said Eiji Izawa, professor emeritus at Kyushu University. Hishikari, which opened in Kagoshima prefecture in 1985, is now the country's only active mine. Japan produced about 4 tonnes of gold in 2024, compared with an estimated 3,300 tonnes worldwide last year, according to U.S. Geological Survey figures cited by Nikkei Asia.

New York gold futures were in the lower US$4,000s per ounce on September 17, more than triple their level a decade earlier, Nikkei Asia reported. With the yen weaker, "the price of gold now is more than 10 times as high in yen terms as it was in the late 1990s, when gold exploration died down," Miyatake said. Spot gold fell more than 6% in September, then rose to US$4,183.22 an ounce on October 1, Reuters reported via Kitco News.

Japanese companies are also recovering gold from other sources, according to Nikkei. Nippon Denko, a Nippon Steel Corp. (5401:TSE; NISTF:OTCPK; NPSCY:OTCPK) affiliate, extracts gold from incinerated garbage ash at four facilities and plans seven by 2030. Engineering group IHI Corp. (7013:TSE; IHICY:OTCPK) is developing a way to pull gold from seawater using algae. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (5713:TSE; STMNF:OTCPK), which operates Hishikari, has used camera-equipped drones in its mineshafts since September 2025.

Other explorers are raising money. On September 23, Japan Gold Corp. (JG:TSXV; JGLDF:OTCQB) announced an alliance with Solidcore Resources plc (CORE:AIX), which committed CA$35 million over 36 months to explore five target areas in Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu. Solidcore can earn up to 80% of them in stages.

Three Islands, Three Big Partners

Miyatake said Japan "had long been neglected as an investment target globally due to language barriers and the [former] strength of the yen." Irving has projects on three of Japan's main islands, each with a large partner.

Its flagship is the Omu project in Hokkaido. Under a November 2024 agreement, JX Advanced Metals can earn 75% of the Omu Sinter Pit property by spending at least ¥300 million (about CA$2.85 million) over three years. JX needs silica for its copper smelting business, and Omu's silica deposits contain gold, Nikkei Asia reported.

If the project succeeds, it would be Japan's first new active gold mine since Hishikari.

"When we first acquired the Omu project in 2016, we did so based upon our business model of developing high-silica deposits suitable for use as smelter flux in the expansive Japanese base metal smelting industry," President and Chief Executive Officer Akiko Levinson said when the option was announced.

In June, Irving reported a high-grade feeder zone at Omu Sinter. Hole 26OMS-002 returned 47.7 meters grading 0.98 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 68.96 g/t silver, including 1.05 meters of 10.68 g/t gold and 187.81 g/t silver. True width has not been established.

"Finding high-grade precious metals in the shallow environment is a first, and we think this bodes well for the discovery of a more substantial deposit at depth," said Quinton Hennigh, Irving's technical adviser and a director. The zone below about 50 meters below sea level at Omu Sinter is outside the JX option and remains 100% controlled by Irving.

Irving also holds 27.5% of a joint venture with Newmont (60%) and Sumitomo (12.5%). It covers the Yamagano project in Kagoshima, where gold was mined for about 400 years, and the Shika project on the Noto Peninsula. Irving closed a private placement in February for gross proceeds of CA$3.925 million.

Rigs Turning at Omu, a 62 g/t Sample at Noto

On September 28, Irving reported survey results from the Unoya target at Shika. Of 56 quartz vein and float samples, 13 returned more than 1 g/t gold. The best, a float sample found about one kilometer south of the historical Unoya mine, assayed 62.3 g/t gold and 604 g/t silver.

A drone magnetic survey outlined a zone about 2.5 kilometers long and one kilometer wide that coincides with the gold-bearing float. Soil results are pending, and the joint venture is considering drill holes of 300 to 500 meters in 2027.

Chen Lin wrote,"IRV could have found the high-grade feeder zone that Newmont was looking for years ago."

Irving says Noto shares geology with nearby Sado Island, where the Sado Kinzan mine operated for 388 years and recorded about 2.51 million ounces (Moz) of gold and 74 Moz of silver.

At Omu, four drill rigs are working, Irving said on September 14. One is at the Nanko target, two are in the JX collaboration area at Omui, and one is at the Omu Sinter deposit. Irving expected its permit for deeper holes within a few weeks.

Production is not expected soon. "Even if it goes smoothly, commercial production will probably start in the 2030s," a JX Advanced Metals representative told Nikkei Asia. If the project succeeds, it would be Japan's first new active gold mine since Hishikari.

Why One Newsletter Writer Calls Irving a Buy

Chen Lin of What Is Chen Buying? What Is Chen Selling? wrote on September 30 that Irving's Omu drilling is encouraging, with results pending. "IRV could have found the high-grade feeder zone that Newmont was looking for years ago," he wrote. He added that the Noto project "is doing well," pointing to the company's recent news and the joint venture with Newmont and Sumitomo Corp.

"I believe at the current price, IRV is a Buy," Lin wrote. He noted that Hennigh has presented on his panels on Irving's behalf several times. In June, Lin called the Omu Sinter feeder discovery "very important," Streetwise Reports reported.

Gold Could Have a 'Shinier' Fourth Quarter

Gold ended the third quarter up 4% and held above US$4,100 an ounce, even as 10-year Treasury yields rose 87 basis points to 5.27%, their highest in about 20 years, Kitco's Neils Christensen reported on September 30. The metal spent most of the quarter between US$4,000 and US$4,500 after reaching highs near US$4,700 in August.

"Given gold's ability to remain steady in what should otherwise have been a tough macro environment, the precious metal could have a shinier Q4," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at FOREX.com. He sees US$4,400 as the level gold needs to clear. Above that, his targets are US$4,500, the August peak near US$4,700, and then US$5,000. Razaqzada also said there are "no major indications that demand for gold from central banks will ease in the final quarter of the year."

The lower prices are bringing physical buyers back in Asia, Reuters reported on October 2 via Mining.com. In India, domestic prices fell to 145,538 rupees per 10 grams, the lowest in nearly two months, and dealers' discounts narrowed to as much as US$14 an ounce from US$43 a week earlier. Demand "was better than last week as prices corrected," said Harshad Ajmera of JJ Gold House in Kolkata. India's festival season is approaching, with Dussehra this month and Diwali in early November. In China, bullion traded at premiums of US$5 to US$10 an ounce over the global benchmark.

Ownership and Share Structure¹

Management and directors own about 9.96% of Irving, and strategic investors Newmont and Sumitomo own 14.8% and 4%, respectively. The rest is retail.

Irving Resources Inc. has approximately CA$27.74 million in market capitalization and 99.13 million shares outstanding. The company's 52‑week trading range is CA$0.20 to CA$0.50.

Common Questions from Investors

What is driving renewed interest in Japanese gold? New York gold futures were in the lower US$4,000s per ounce in mid-September, more than triple their level a decade earlier, Nikkei Asia reported. With the yen weaker, Irving Japan's Shuichi Miyatake said gold is now more than 10 times as high in yen terms as in the late 1990s, when exploration died down.

What is Irving doing in Japan? Irving is drilling its flagship Omu project in Hokkaido, where JX Advanced Metals can earn 75% of the Omu Sinter Pit property by spending at least ¥300 million over three years. Irving also holds 27.5% of a joint venture with Newmont (60%) and Sumitomo Corp. (12.5%) covering the Yamagano and Noto projects.

What has drilling at Omu found? In June, Irving reported a high-grade feeder zone at Omu Sinter, with hole 26OMS-002 returning 47.7 meters of 0.98 g/t gold and 68.96 g/t silver. True width has not been established. Four rigs are working at Omu: one at Nanko, two in the JX collaboration area at Omui, and one at the Omu Sinter deposit.

What are the next steps at Noto? Soil results from the Unoya target are pending, and the joint venture is considering drill holes of 300 to 500 meters in 2027. Irving says Noto shares geology with nearby Sado Island, where the Sado Kinzan mine operated for 388 years.

When could Omu become a mine? Not soon. A JX Advanced Metals representative told Nikkei Asia that "commercial production will probably start in the 2030s" even if things go smoothly. If the project succeeds, it would be Japan's first new active gold mine since Hishikari opened in 1985.

What do third parties say? Chen Lin of What Is Chen Buying? What Is Chen Selling? wrote on September 30 that Irving "could have found the high-grade feeder zone that Newmont was looking for years ago." In June, he called the feeder discovery "very important."