The Murray Gold Belt

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District Overview

Placer and lode gold was discovered in the Murray Gold Belt ("MGB") in 1883 leading to the creation of the world-class Coeur d’Alene Mining District. Idaho Strategic's Golden Chest Mine was the largest gold mine, by production and size, in the district. However, by the early 1890’s, the main mining emphasis had switched to the large silver-lead mines along the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River, leaving the MGB largely forgotten. During this time, the Guggenheim family consolidated the majority of the land in the MGB and dredged the creek for placer gold. After many successful years of dredging, the Guggenheim family ceased their gold operations in northern Idaho and the MGB went untouched for over 100 years until a late decendant of the Guggenheim family eventually sold the land to a local timber company. The timber company logged parts of the MGB for approxiamtely 20 years until it was sold off to various local residents. Following the successful development and restart of mining operations at the Golden Chest Mine, Idaho Strategic has spent many years re-consolidating this historic district and has the opportunity to be the first company to systematically explore it under one ownership. Past efforts to explore the district by large mining companies such as Newmont, Cominco, ASARCO, and Hecla were hindered due to their inability to access the portions of the MGB located on private land which are where many of Idaho Strategic's top prospects are located today.

Murray Gold Belt Landholdings

Private Land

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Mineral Claims

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The Golden Chest Mine occupies approximately 220 acres of IDR's 20,000+ acres in the Murray Gold Belt

Murray Gold Belt Exploration

Niagara

Niagara is a Revett-type sediment hosted copper-silver project located in the Murray Gold Belt District. The project hosts a historic resource reported in 2008, which estimated approximately 150 million pounds of contained copper and 8 million ounces of contained silver. The deposit is of the stratabound variety believed to be similar to Hecla's Libby Exploration project, currently being advanced under FAST-41 permitting. Idaho Strategic believes Niagara has excellent exploration potential for resource growth.

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Little Baldy

IDR acquired Little Baldy from Hecla Mining in the third quarter of 2025. The project is located on private land within the Murray Gold Belt District. It has seen sporadic exploration over the years including more recent programs by New Jersey Mining Company (now IDR), Newmont, and Hecla. The most recent drilling programs and surface work conducted by Hecla in 2017 and 2018 outlined five distinct veins that collectively made for an internal inferred resource estimate of approximately 50 thousand ounces of gold. Idaho Strategic believes that meaningful exploration potential exists both at depth and along strike from the previous Hecla drilling. Additionally, past drilling on the project was confined to the private land, and IDR is in the process of permitting drill pads on the adjacent public land.

Mineral Ridge

The Mineral Ridge prospect is located on unpatented mining claims in the Murray Gold Belt District. While modern exploration on the prospect is limited to a Newmont soil sampling program in 2009, which showed a large gold-in-soils anomaly, historic drilling occurred in 1992 by Nord Pacific. The highlight of Nord Pacific's drilling at Mineral Ridge was the discovery of a gold bearing quartz vein that assayed at 18.9 grams of gold per tonne (gpt) over 1.52 meters, within a broader intercept containing 4.19 gpt over 6.1 meters. Idaho Strategic views this prospect favorably due to the large gold-in-soils anomaly outlined by Newmont in combination with the high-grade Nord Pacific drill result. Follow up surface work is planned for the 2026 field season with drilling planned in 2027, subject to permitting.

Argus King Mine Buckskin Gold Ridge

Argus

Located immediately west of the town of Murray and just north of Pritchard Creek, IDR's Argus prospect is located on patented lode claims. The Argus prospect was historically placer mined in areas where the ancient gravels were not too deep.

IDR drilled the Argus prospect in 2022. Results include 35.1 grams per tonne (gpt) gold over 0.6 m within 1 m of 8.39 gpt, 24 gpt over 0.34 m within 0.75 m of 11.65 gpt, and 22.2 gpt over 0.2 m within 0.6 m of 9.19 gpt. All assays above come from veins near a monzonite sill/dike, similar to the Paymaster Vein at the Golden Chest Mine.

Drill holes to explore vein(s) down-dip to the north are planned for 2025. The veins at Argus are typically surrounded by wide zones (up to 30 m thick) of 0.5-1 gpt gold material. Drill sites for 2025 are located north of the "Wall of Fire", named for the bright red color seen on the wall rock due to abundant FeOX from weathered igneous rocks.

King Mine

Located north of Pritchard Creek and west of Murray on patented lode claims controlled by IDR, the King Mine is an historic gold mine with underground workings totaling 308 meters (only 30 m accessible) plus an historic stamp mill site.

IDR geologists have located two gold-bearing veins on the property known as the Skookum and Small Hope veins. Historic reports indicated that the two veins strike from N. 75° W. to east and west, and dip from 45° to 55° N.W.

Historic production (Shenon, 1934) stated that around $200,000 of gold was recovered from a small area near the top of the ridge, implying approximately 10,000 ounces of historic gold production given the gold price at the time.

In 2024, IDR collected 77 soil samples in the eastern part of the property on a 50x50 meter grid and located an outcrop of gold-bearing veins along trend from historic the workings.

2025 drill exploration is planned to explore historically identified vein occurrences along the west end of King Mine ridge in the vicinity of high-grade rock samples.

Buckskin

On the west side of Alder Gulch in the Murray Gold Belt, Buckskin is an historic gold mine located on patented land controlled by IDR. Historic mine workings total approximately 477 meters of which 51 meters are accessible for assessment.

2018 trench results returned 76.7 grams per tonne (gpt) over 0.5 m, 6.25 gpt over 1.2 m, 4.83 gpt over 0.5 m, 4.2 gpt over 0.52 m, and 3.63 gpt over 1 m. The 2018 trench results spanned an area of approximately 40 meters.

In 2020, a ground magnetometer survey was conducted over the area of underground workings and to the south. The survey successfully delineated the fault structure as an abrupt change in magnetic intesity.

266 soil samples and 89 rock samples were collected in 2024. The soil samples were collected in a 50m x 50m grid over the Buckskin area and showed two gold-in-soil anomalies.

Plan for 2025 is to drill up-hill from the high grade trench results to explore the vein down dip and along strike from its surface exposure. Additional drill targets are quartzite ridge with abundant quartz veining immediately to the west of the Buckskin area.

Gold Ridge

The Gold Ridge prospect includes numerous historic mines totaling at least 294 meters of workings. Recent IDR sampling of vein material on a dump in Dream Gulch returned 120 grams per tonne (gpt) gold near adits that appear to be exploring for deep targets under Gold Ridge.

IDR trenching in 2023 in the bottom of old placer pits in Missoula Gulch showed visible gold in veins near altered dike rock. The company followed up its trenching efforts with soil sampling on a 50x50 meter grid in 2024.

Drilling planned for 2025 will explore veins at depth indicated at Gold Ridge, a deeper E-W structure that was explored historically underground, and drilling in the bottom of old placer pits in Missoula Gulch targeting poorly exposed veining associated with intrusive rock.

Murray Mill

In 2024, Idaho Strategic began the staged buildout of its new Murray Mill facility. The Murray Mill is located on-site at the Golden Chest Mine, which will not only eliminate existing haulage costs, but it will also serve as the processing facility for ore from potential additional mining operations within the company's broader Murray Gold Belt landholdings. Since Idaho Strategic already operates the New Jersey Mill, the company has the flexibility to stage the buildout of the Murray Mill beginning with the construction of a paste backfill system to replace the more costly cemented rockfill method currently being used. Idaho Strategic plans to commission the paste backfill system along with the new Murray Mill in 2027.

Current Gold Production

Idaho Strategic's Golden Chest Mine is the sole producer in the Murray Gold Belt and was historically the largest gold producer in the District. While the modern footprint of the Golden Chest mine sits on approximately 220 acres, IDR’s total Murray Gold Belt land package consists of over 1,700 acres of patented land and 20,000 acres of unpatented mineral claims. Idaho Strategic is in the process of expanding its operations at the Golden Chest to include a new milling facility, which the company believes will serve as the processing hub for additional discoveries in the broader Murray Gold Belt District over time.

Golden Chest Mine