Mr. John Proust of Japan Gold reports

JAPAN GOLD ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE TO EXPLORE FOUR PROSPECTIVE LITHOCAP PROJECTS

Japan Gold Corp. has entered into a binding letter agreement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to explore four of its prospective lithocap projects located on the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu, Japan. The lithocap projects represent exploration targets for shallow-level epithermal gold and deeper porphyry copper-gold deposits. Pursuant to the terms of the letter agreement, First Quantum Minerals has committed to manage and oversee a systematic surface exploration reconnaissance program on each project prior to June 30, 2019.

John Proust, chairman and chief executive officer of Japan Gold, commented: "We are delighted to partner with a company with First Quantum's international reputation, exploration, development and production expertise, and financial capability to advance four of our highly prospective gold and copper-gold exploration targets in Japan. We believe this to be a first of many validating events for our pioneering efforts to re-establish Japan as a major mining jurisdiction. Separately, Japan Gold's portfolio includes an additional 12 epithermal gold projects focused on the islands of Hokkaido and Kyushu, all of which sit within historic mining districts. Taken together, we believe that the company is in an excellent strategic position in Japan and we heartily welcome First Quantum as a partner."

The projects included in the letter agreement are the Eboshi, Kobui, Minamikayabe and Kamitsue projects, which collectively cover a land area of 11,830 hectares.

First Quantum Minerals will immediately commence work on initial exploration programs at each of the projects, which will consist of reconnaissance fieldwork, mapping, soil and rock sampling, and targeted geophysics. First Quantum Minerals personnel will be working directly alongside Japan Gold, which will remain as operator during this initial program at each of the projects.

Option summary

Upon completion of the initial exploration program, as defined by a specific scope of work on each of the four projects, First Quantum Minerals will have the option to enter into a formal earn-in agreement on any project individually, pursuant to which First Quantum Minerals may earn a 51-per-cent interest in a project by completing a minimum of $5-million (U.S.) in total exploration expenditures prior to June 30, 2022. For any project that First Quantum Minerals options, it will endeavour to maintain minimum average annual expenditures of $1-million (U.S.) per year during the initial earn-in period.

Upon earning a 51-per-cent interest in a project, First Quantum Minerals would have the right to earn an additional 29-per-cent interest in a project by solely financing the project until First Quantum Minerals makes a decision to mine, increasing First Quantum Minerals' ownership in a project to 80 per cent.

Lithocap project summaries

The Eboshi project comprises nine contiguous prospecting rights totalling 3,080 hectares located near the coastal town of Noheji in northern Honshu, Japan. The project area contains a large and exposed advanced-argillic lithocap, one of several identified along the northeast Japan Arc by government-funded regional metallogenic surveys conducted in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Kobui project comprises eight contiguous prospecting rights applications totalling 2,738 hectares located on the Kameda Peninsula of southwestern Hokkaido. The project area contains two large advanced-argillic lithocaps separated by a younger andesitic volcanic dome.

The Minamikayabe project comprises six contiguous prospecting rights applications totalling 1,943 hectares located on the Kameda Peninsula of southwestern Hokkaido. Targets include high-level epithermal gold systems and deeper potential porphyry targets associated with two broad advanced-argillic lithocaps.

The Kamitsue project comprises 12 contiguous prospecting rights applications totalling 4,069 hectares located near the town of Kikuchi in northern Kyushu. A large area of advanced-argillic alteration was identified by the company in 2018 during reconnaissance programs around historically prospected gold-bearing quartz veins.

Advisers

Haywood Securities Inc. is acting as financial adviser to Japan Gold in connection with the transaction. Morton Law LLP is acting as legal counsel to Japan Gold.

About Japan Gold Corp.

Japan Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused solely on gold and copper-gold exploration in Japan. The company has applied for 210 prospecting rights licences in Japan for a combined area of 69,505 hectares over 17 separate projects. Thirty-seven of the applications have been granted as prospecting rights. The applications cover areas with known gold occurrences and a history of mining, and are prospective for both high-grade epithermal gold mineralization and gold-bearing lithocaps, which could indicate the presence of porphyry mineralization.

About First Quantum Minerals Ltd.

First Quantum Minerals is a leading and fast-growing copper company founded more than 20 years ago with a strong conviction in the long-term fundamentals for copper. Beginning with the 1996 purchase of the Bwana Mkubwa mining licence in Zambia, to reprocess tailings from past mining activities, First Quantum Minerals' assets and operations now span nine countries and five continents. Today, First Quantum Minerals is one of the world's top-10 copper producers. In 2017, First Quantum Minerals recorded the highest copper production in its history at 573,963 tonnes, in addition to 199,736 ounces of gold and 17,837 tonnes of nickel.

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