Bob Moriarty of 321 Gold discusses Southern Arc Mineral’s large stake in Japan Gold Corp., a new company positioned to take advantage of Japan’s opening of gold exploration to foreign companies.
It appears that Marco Polo may have been the first junior mining letter writer. He wrote about “The Legend of ‘Zipangu,’ the Land of Gold” in his book, The Travels of Marco Polo. He said, “People on the Island of Zipangu (Japan) have tremendous quantities of gold. The King’s palace is roofed with pure gold, and his floors are paved in gold two fingers thick.” It was partially this belief that led Christopher Columbus on his voyages to the New World in search of gold in the belief he was on the way to the Orient.
What he didn’t say that is of most importance to us as investors is that until recently foreign mining companies were not allowed to mine or explore for gold in Japan. Now they can and that may lead to giant opportunities for investors. While Canadian, Australian and American mining companies may not have Japan on their radar, actually Japan was active in gold mining until World War II caused mining to be shut down. But even today, the highest-grade gold mine in the world is located in Japan called the Hishikari Gold Mine owned by Sumitomo with a head grade of 40-g/t gold. The ore is so rich that it is hand sorted on an assembly line much like that of sorting out green tomatoes.
John Proust of Southern Arc Minerals Inc. (SA:TSX.V; SOACF:OTCQX) filed for a number of concessions in Japan over the last three years. As CEO.CA described it, he did it in “stealth mode.” Proust made a deal with Frank Giustra and …read more