Idaho Strategic Samples 23.5% Total Rare Earth Elements at its Mineral Hill Project

COEUR D'ALENE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2023 / Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE American:IDR) ("IDR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the discovery of 23.5% total rare earth elements (TREE) in a sample taken from the Company's Mineral Hill Project in Lemhi County, Idaho.

The Mineral Hill rare earth elements (REE) project is comprised of approximately 2,000 acres situated in the northern portion of the Idaho REE-Th Belt. The project includes four distinct REE occurrences known as Lower Roberts, Upper Roberts, Lower Lee Buck, and the newly added Phyllis Gross claim group. The target of the Company's latest exploration program at Mineral Hill was to locate and sample a previously reported REE sample from 1954 which reported 21.5% TREEs. The sample was initially reported in a thesis by Fred Sturm (University of Idaho) and then again by Agatin Abbott (Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology). Sturm's report describes the occurrence as "an individual mass of monazite greater than any other exposed through the region".

After reviewing the two historic reports, IDR geologists located and sampled Sturm and Abbott's monazite occurrence and assay results for sample 98241 showed 23.5% TREEs, confirming the accuracy of the historic work the Company is building upon while providing ample support for the original decision to focus on this area overall.

IDR geologists describe the monazite mass as a 10 centimeter (4-inch) thick, pale-yellow sandy seam enveloped by two distinct carbonatites (Photo 1). The total width of the carbonatites and seam is 0.85 meters (2.5 feet). The hanging wall carbonatite body is greenish colored with large crystals of ilmenite. The footwall side of the monazite seam is brightly colored, red-brown to orange-brown, crystalline carbonatite that assays 7.5% TREE.

Equally as impressive as the overall grade, is the favorable mix of REEs. As indicated in the table above, the more valuable rare earths used in magnet applications, such as neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr), compose approximately 16.23% of the total reported rare earth elements. Given the favorable mix of individual rare earth elements and the impressive overall TREE grade, IDR plans to send the sample out for additional metallurgical testing, including flotation, gravity, and magnetic separation techniques - and possibly other recovery and/or separation techniques being studied.

IDR's VP of Exploration, Rob Morgan commented, "We always knew this area of Idaho contained carbonatites with exceptional REE grades. The historic information was paramount in refining our regional focus and the decision to first establish these claims back in 2019. We look at the Mineral Hill Project as being ‘centered' on the high-grade REE mineralization of the district with Roberts, Lower Lee Buck and the Phyllis Gross occurrences defining the center of the bullseye. We feel that these are possibly the highest grades to come out of the region (Idaho and Montana), but also stack up quite favorably on a national basis as well."

Qualified person
IDR's Vice President of Exploration, Rob Morgan, PG, PLS is a qualified person as such term is defined under S-K 1300 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release. Assays were conducted by ALS Minerals using Ore Grade Rare Earth Element analysis (ME-MS81h) and ME-OGREE for Ce, La and Pr.

About Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.
Domiciled in Idaho and headquartered in the Panhandle of northern Idaho, Idaho Strategic Resources (IDR) is one of the few resource-based companies (public or private) possessing the combination of officially recognized U.S. domestic rare earth elements properties (in Idaho), the largest known concentration of thorium resources in the U.S., and Idaho-based gold production located in an established mining community.

Idaho Strategic Resources produces gold at the Golden Chest Mine located in the Murray Gold Belt (MGB) area of the world-class Coeur d'Alene Mining District, north of the prolific Silver Valley. With over 7,300 acres of patented and unpatented land, the Company has the largest private land position in the area following its consolidation of the Murray Gold Belt for the first time in over 100-years.

In addition to gold and gold production, the Company maintains an important strategic presence in the U.S. Critical Minerals sector, specifically focused on the more "at-risk" Rare Earth Elements (REEs) with an overall land position of approximately 18,030 acres in Idaho's REE-Th Belt. The Company's Lemhi Pass, Diamond Creek, and Mineral Hill REE properties are included the U.S. national REE inventory as listed in USGS, IGS and DOE publications. IDR's Lemhi Pass REE-Thorium Project is also recognized by the USGS and IGS as containing the largest concentration of thorium resources in the country. All three projects are located in central Idaho and participating in the USGS Earth MRI program.

With an impressive mix of experience and dedication, the folks at IDR maintain a long-standing "We Live Here" approach to corporate culture, land management, and historic preservation. Furthermore, it is our belief that successful operations begin with the heightened responsibility that only local oversight and a community mindset can provide. Its "everyone goes home at night" policy would not be possible without the multi-generational base of local exploration, drilling, mining, milling, and business professionals that reside in and near the communities of the Silver Valley and North Idaho.

For more information on Idaho Strategic Resources click here for our corporate presentation, go to www.idahostrategic.com or call:

Travis Swallow, Investor Relations & Corporate Development
Email: tswallow@idahostrategic.com
Phone: (208) 625-9001

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by forward-looking words such as "intends", "potential", "believe", "plans", "expects", "may", "goal', "assume", "estimate", "anticipate", and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, assumptions, intentions, or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information includes, but are not limited to, the reliance on historic reports and information to aid in the Company's project advancement for which the accuracy of the historic reports are unknown, the potential advancement of Idaho Strategic's Mineral Hill REE project, the potential development of the Mineral Hill REE deposit, the economics of the Mineral Hill REE deposit, and the potential for the Mineral Hill REE deposit to become an economic source of rare earth elements. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of Idaho Strategic Resources as of the date such information is provided and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of IDR to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The forward-looking statement information above, and those following are applicable to both this press release, as well as the links contained within this press release. With respect to the business of Idaho Strategic Resources, these risks and uncertainties include risks relating to widespread epidemics or pandemic outbreaks, if they occur, including our ability to access goods and supplies, the ability to transport our products and impacts on employee productivity, the risks in connection with the operations, cash flow and results of the Company relating to the unknown duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information; the accuracy of historic estimates; unfavorable exploration results; inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production; general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices; the ability to obtain necessary future financing on acceptable terms; the ability to operate the Company's projects; and risks associated with the mining industry such as economic factors (including future commodity prices, and energy prices), ground conditions, failure of plant, equipment, processes and transportation services to operate as anticipated, environmental risks, government regulation, actual results of current exploration and production activities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, permitting timelines, capital and construction expenditures, reclamation activities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from this forward‐looking information is available in Idaho Strategic Resources filings with the SEC on EDGAR. IDR does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.