"Irving Resources Inc. (IRV:CSE; IRVRF:OTCBB), headed by the charming and talented Akiko Levinson, has over half a dozen high grade gold and silver deposits covering past producing mines going back as long as 400 years ago. During WW II Japan closed down all precious metals mining to meet the needs of wartime production. Japan has a long history of gold and silver production. It was only a few years back that the country reopened its borders to non-Japanese resource companies.
Irving's primary focus today is on the Omu property located on the island of Hokkaido in the far north of Japan. Drilling began in 2019 and has produced some extraordinary grades and thickness of mineralization in results released so far. Newmont Goldcorp joined as a Strategic Investor in April of 2019 investing $6 million into Irving. In early 2020 Newmont put in an additional $4 million.
"In comparison to operations in Nevada or Canada or Australia, progress is slow in drilling and exploration. Japan has literally had to reinvent the wheel since no one in the resource ministry was even alive when Japan was a major gold producer. They are taking baby steps because they have to. In addition the Covid virus has pretty much crippled transportation as the nation has slowed to a crawl. Mining is reemerging but done in a way satisfactory to the Japanese government.
In June of 2020 Irving made an incredible coup by announcing a non-binding term sheet to come to an agreement on the acquisition of the famous Yamagano gold mine from the Shimadzu family. This mine was in production for over 360 years and was a primary source of the wealth of one of the most important families in Japan. Located on the island of Kyushu the mine is about 11 km from the world famous high-grade Hishikari gold mine.
Three investors own over 42% of the shares. That would be Akiko Levinson President and CEO, Dr. Quinton Hennigh, Director and Eric Sprott, billionaire. In addition the next highest seven shareholders own 36% more of the shares. In short on a basis of existing shares, 78% of the issued stock is in the tightest of hands and 82% on a fully diluted basis. The remaining 20% or so is made up of tiny positions held by small shareholders who toss them onto the market when they need some change. I’ve never seen any stock so tightly held.
It would be safe to suggest that Irving maintains a giant competitive advantage in that a Japanese woman runs the company who not only understands how Japan works but also has run a successful mining exploration company in Canada. Akiko Levinson has a foot in each camp. When I read the press releases from Irving about what their technical team found during exploration, I began to buy shares. This company is the hardest company to build a decent position in of any that I have ever seen due to the tiny float. A fund wanting a position worthy of the name could double the stock again in a week.
While I was in Hokkaido on the site visit we were in and out of the office with mud on our boots. I looked around and caught Akiko sweeping the floor. If I was ever to recommend a company it would be one in which the CEO is paid peanuts, and has to rely on share appreciation to make money, and picks up a broom and sweeps when the floor is dirty. I love this company.
I love Irving. I love the management; Akiko is one of my favorite people in mining. Quinton Hennigh is a director and helps with technical issues. They have probably the strongest technical teams in Japan and are backed by Newmont and Sumitomo with money and resources. The share structure is tight and as the Covid nonsense goes away progress will be faster. Irving is currently my largest holding."
https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2020/09/08/what-to-buy-in-the-correction.html
https://menafn.com/1098776142/Irving-Is-About-to-Become-a-Gold-Producer
https://www.streetwisereports.com/pub/na/irving-resources-tightest-shares-in-canada