Idaho Strategic Resources is drilling like a company that expects to keep growing. On October 1, the NYSE American-listed gold producer reported high-grade gold intercepts from four vein targets near its producing Golden Chest Mine in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District — and said the success of its near-mine exploration program has earned it a third drill rig, already on site and starting on a single 12-hour shift.
- Jumbo Vein drilling was led by hole GC 26-433, which returned 16.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 4.0 meters, including 48 g/t over 1.3 meters, all in estimated true thickness.
- Paymaster Vein hole GC 26-395 returned 14.7 g/t gold over 2.1 meters, including 44.3 g/t over 0.7 meters.
- High-grade gold was also intercepted in the secondary Bush and Idaho veins, with a single Jumbo interval reaching 90.9 g/t over 0.4 meters (hole GC 26-437).
- The company has run two drills at Golden Chest for most of the year; the third rig is meant to pull forward information for 2027 mine planning.
- Through the third quarter, Idaho Strategic has completed roughly 25,500 meters of drilling at Golden Chest — on pace for its highest single-year total in company history.
Why add a third rig at a producing mine?
Most juniors drill to find the next mine. Idaho Strategic drills to feed the one it already runs — its "production-backed exploration" business plan. The two drills turning for most of 2026 have targeted resource expansion and infill in the Jumbo and Paymaster veins, described as expected contributors to future production. CEO John Swallow said the third rig's job is to pull 2027 mine-planning information forward, not to chase new ground: the broader Murray Gold Belt, including initial drilling at the Niagara copper-silver deposit, still moves ahead on schedule with a second contractor, with Niagara drilling expected to start in early October.
All four reported targets sit near existing mine infrastructure and will be factored into future mine planning and resource estimates.
The Murray Mill transition
Behind the drill results sits an operational milestone: the company plans to transition milling operations to its Murray Mill in early 2027. Milling is where rock becomes revenue, and a move to the Murray Mill signals how the company expects the Golden Chest operation to look as the Jumbo and Paymaster veins feed the production schedule.
Swallow framed the Golden Chest and the broader Murray Gold Belt as underexplored ground inside the Coeur d'Alene Mining District that shares characteristics — and, in his words, high upside — with the Silver Valley immediately to the south. That is an evocative comparison: the Silver Valley is one of America's great historic mining districts, and Idaho Strategic is saying the geology north of it is cut from the same cloth.
A producer with a rare earths land package
Idaho Strategic is not a typical junior. It produces gold today, and it also controls what it describes as the largest rare earth elements land package in the United States — based, it notes, on the company's own review of public information. Beyond gold and rare earths, its Idaho land position carries exposure to thorium, copper, and silver. Drill core from Golden Chest is assayed by American Analytical Services, an ISO 17025-accredited lab in Osburn, Idaho, with technical information reviewed by qualified person Grant A. Brackebusch, P.E.