John Swallow and Travis Swallow JS: President and CEO TS: Stakeholder & Corporate Development IDAHO STRATEGIC RESOURCES
Can you provide recent production highlights?
TS: We remain Idaho's largest primary gold producer, with revenue up by about 50% in 2024. The gold head grade at our mill has improved by 40-50%, putting us on track to produce 10,000-15,000 oz of gold in 2024. For the first time since 2016, increased production, higher head grades, and rising gold prices have enabled us to largely self-fund our growth and exploration. We currently have three drills operating at the Golden Chest mine. While the mine covers 220 acres, our entire land package spans over 7,000 acres, offering significant exploration potential. We are analyzing several promising targets across the area. As a part of our plans to increase production, we are constructing a paste backfill plant at the Golden Chest mine, a key first step towards building a larger mill on-site. An on-site mill will improve efficiency, reduce costs, and unlock the entire Murray Gold Belt District.
JS: Idaho Strategic Resources controls an entire historic gold district that was owned by one family and not been explored for nearly 120 years. The district includes numerous 1880s-era mines and prospects and we are excited to advance exploration and drilling efforts in the coming year to expand our footprint. We have grown 30-50% annually, and see the potential to continue this growth ahead of us. We did the heavy lifting and are now a profitable gold producer – the hard part of this process is behind us. How is Idaho Strategic advancing its rare earth element (REE) deposits?
TS: We believe we are the largest REE landholder in the US, with three top-ranked projects in the Idaho Rare Earth Element Thorium Belt and the largest known occurrence of thorium in the country. We conducted extensive surface sampling and are collaborating with national labs to study mineralogy and develop processing methods to advance our REE ores into future metals and magnets.
Samples from our Mineral Hill property contain up to 34% total rare earth oxides, among the highest in the world.
JS: Investors are still learning how to evaluate REE projects. In 2023, we achieved a decade's worth of relationship-building in one year, working with the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Idaho National Labs, and Ames National Lab. We co-authored a bill expected to go through Congress after the election, addressing cost-sharing and federal funding for REE projects. How does China's dominance over the REE market impact the firm?
TS: Our projects are located just north of Idaho National Labs (INL). In 2021, INL expanded its focus to include mineral processing. The REE industry saw a spike in 2020-2021 due to supply chain issues. Now, in my opinion, China is using a similar strategy as in the past to depress prices of many critical minerals while securing off-take agreements with companies around the globe that are struggling for funding. Our cash flow from our gold operations allows us to advance our REE projects despite this downturn.
China already cut off supplies of germanium and gallium in response to the CHIPS Act, followed by restrictions on graphite and REE processing technology. Recently, they also restricted antimony exports. In our view, it is only a matter of time before REEs are targeted.
Jason Kosec President, CEO and Director INTEGRA RESOURCES
How will the acquisition of the Florida Canyon mine impact Integra Resources?
The acquisition of the Florida Canyon mine transforms Integra Resources from developer to producer status and establishes a long-term regional mining platform that will exist for over 20 years. This transaction aligns with our vision for a sustainable operation, enhancing synergies and reducing unit costs, including for lime, cyanide, and maintenance. It will also reduce our reliance on frequent capital raises, as the cash flow from Florida Canyon is expected to support development costs for our key development stage projects DeLamar and Nevada North. For shareholders, this transition from developer to producer is expected to boost our valuation and reduce the company’s cost of capital. Florida Canyon has a seven-year mine life with steady production of around 70,000 oz/y. With DeLamar and Nevada North coming online in later years we anticipate steady state production exceeding 200,000 oz/y. This growth will move Integra from a junior to an intermediate producer, all within the Great Basin of the USA. What are the recent milestones for the DeLamar project?
We submitted the Mine Plan of Operations in December 2023 and received approval in June 2024. The next step is to obtain the Notice of Intent (NOI) for the NEPA process, which will begin the expected 2-year process that will lead to a Record of Decision. Progress is being made on the Feasibility Study, which is set to focus solely on heap leaching and will include stockpiles. Can you provide highlights from your completed drill program at DeLamar?
We inherited around 60 million t of stockpiled material from Kinross. Our team identified and drilled these areas, resulting in an updated resource of 42.5 million t of M&I material that will be incorporated into the updated mine plan in the FS. The PFS included 81 million t for heap leaching. The addition of the stockpiles is expected to extend the mine life and provide significant operational flexibility. This surface material, being more accessible, is expected to speed up time to production and reduce operating costs compared to drilling and blasting. How does the atmosphere in Nevada affect the mining industry?
Nevada is ranked number one globally by the Fraser Institute. If Nevada were a country, it would be in the top 10 for gold production. This makes it an ideal location for mining operations. Federally, the government is supportive of the mining industry and is slowly making changes to secure critical minerals like gold and silver, recognizing the need to reduce dependency on foreign sources. Do you have any updates on Integra’s other exploration assets?
Red Canyon, located just south of Cortez and north of McEwen Mining’s Gold Bar mine, in the Carlin system, presents a significant opportunity. The project boasts notable intercepts like 54 meters of 4.5 g/t Au of oxide at surface, which we drilled in 2020. This project will undergo further exploration. Other assets in the portfolio are at early stages and require more evaluation.