Irving Gold-Silver Exploration in Japan: Major Progress on Noto Peninsula Project with Historic Unoya Mine Discovery

Irving Resources is advancing its extensive epithermal gold-silver exploration portfolio across Japan’s Noto Peninsula, with significant findings emerging from the company’s comprehensive sampling campaign launched in mid-2024. The Irving-led joint venture—partnering with mining giant Newmont (60% stake) and Sumitomo Corporation (12.5%), with Irving holding 27.5%—now controls 99 prospecting licenses covering 337.37 square kilometers, positioning Irving as the dominant license holder in the strategically important Noto region.

Strategic Advantage: Irving’s Noto Peninsula Thesis and Sado Kinzan Parallels

The geological foundation supporting Irving’s aggressive exploration push stems from compelling regional similarities to nearby Sado Island, home to the legendary Sado Kinzan gold mine—one of Earth’s most productive epithermal systems. Operating continuously for 388 years beginning in 1601, Sado Kinzan yielded 2.51 million ounces of gold and 74 million ounces of silver, with mineralization extending several hundred meters vertically. The Noto Peninsula shares analogous geological characteristics, making it increasingly attractive for discovering similar high-grade, long-lived vein systems. Beyond classic epithermal targets, Irving is also prospecting for intrusion-related gold mineralization across the broader property.

Fieldwork Breakthrough: From Pandemic Delays to Active Exploration

Exploration activities faced significant headwinds—the devastating January 2024 earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula and earlier Covid-19 disruptions limited Irving’s field programs. However, the company pivoted aggressively beginning June 2024, implementing systematic rock and soil sampling across four discrete target zones. To date, Irving’s Japanese subsidiary has collected 106 surface rock chip samples and 528 soil samples, building upon initial broad-scale stream sediment surveys completed in late 2020.

Southwest Noto-Shika Discovery: Historical Unoya Gold Mine and Vein Systems

The most compelling near-term development emerged at the Southwest Noto-Shika Prospecting Right, where Irving secured 19 new license blocks approved by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in early 2025. October 2025 fieldwork successfully located and characterized the historical Unoya gold mine—a poorly documented but geologically extensive operation revealed through surface disturbance mapping. Irving’s team documented Northeast-Southwest trending mining tunnels and collected quartz vein samples displaying pyrite within crustiform silica banding, characteristic of high-grade epithermal systems. Critically, additional quartz vein float samples were discovered approximately one kilometer south of Unoya, suggesting Irving may be mapping just the periphery of a larger vein system with multiple splays.

The 81 rock chip and 150 soil samples collected at Shika are currently undergoing laboratory analysis, with results expected to clarify the full spatial extent of the Unoya vein network and guide next-phase drilling vectors.

Central Noto Results: Mii Area Gold Signal Warrants Immediate Follow-Up

Central Noto sampling across the Wajima, Wajima South, and Mii Prospecting Rights has returned analytical results, with the western Mii area standout. A single soil sample recovered an exceptional 54.7 ppb gold concentration, accompanied by notably elevated silver (0.1 ppm), mercury (16.8 ppm), antimony (42.6 ppm), and arsenic (1,935 ppm)—the arsenical spike particularly significant as it reflects elevated hydrothermal fluid activity typical of bonanza-grade epithermal vein systems. This geochemical signature alone justifies aggressive follow-up exploration at Mii.

The Wajima area returned more modest soil gold values (4.7 ppb maximum) but elevated trace elements, coupled with a substantial 50.8 ppb gold stream sediment anomaly from earlier surveys. Irving’s geologic interpretation suggests post-mineral rock cover masks a buried hydrothermal system, making subsurface exploration here a logical next step.

Northeast Noto-Najimi: Evidence of Buried Mineralization Beneath Sedimentary Cover

Najimi Prospecting Rights sampling produced maximum soil gold of 7.4 ppb alongside trace elements (silver to 0.4 ppm, mercury to 0.2 ppm, antimony to 1.3 ppm, arsenic to 23.5 ppm). Hydrothermally altered rock outcrops and geochemical patterns suggest buried epithermal mineralization beneath a younger sedimentary veneer, warranting deeper investigation.

Technical Rigor and Laboratory Analysis Timeline

All rock and soil samples were submitted to ALS Global (Perth and Brisbane facilities) for gold and multi-element analysis under strict QA/QC protocols—blanks and standards inserted at every 20th sample interval, with soil duplicates at every 75th sample. Southwest Noto-Shika assay results remain pending; Central and Northeast Noto analytical results have been returned from the lab, confirming Irving’s sampling and quality protocols met industry standards.

What’s Next for Irving Gold Exploration

The convergence of three factors—Newmont and Sumitomo partnership validation, discovery of the Unoya historical mine with extensive surface evidence, and geochemical signals (particularly the 54.7 ppb Mii soil sample) aligned with the regional Sado Kinzan mineralization model—positions Irving to potentially unlock a major gold-silver discovery. Pending Shika assay results and follow-up drilling at high-priority zones represent the immediate catalysts for value creation in this Japan-focused epithermal exploration story.