njmc_corresp
October
14, 2022
Karl
Hiller
Branch
Chief
Division
of Corporation Finance
Office
of Energy & Transportation
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington,
DC 20549
Dear
Mr. Hiller:
Following
are responses to the SEC’s comments emailed to our office on
September 9, 2022 and the follow up call on September 15, 2022
relating to the Company’s 2021 Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year
ended December 31, 2021 filed March 31, 2022, File No. 001-41320.
We have discussed our planned responses with internal staff, our
legal counsel, and our auditors and submit the following responses.
I believe we have responded fully to the comments made by
SEC.
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2021
Description of Properties,
page 10
1.
Comment: We note that you appear to
describe two or more material property interests in this section,
considering the status of your Golden Chest Mine, and recent
activity on, and amounts capitalized for, the Alder Gulch
Project.
Please
expand your disclosures to include the summary information
prescribed by Item 1303(b) of Regulation S-K, which should cover
all of your property interests in addition to those that are
subject to Item 1304(a) of Regulation S-K.
Response: We have expanded our
disclosures in the draft of our proposed amended 10-K to include
the summary information prescribed by Items 1303(b) and 1304(a) of
Regulation S-K.
Geology & Mineralization, page 12
2.
Comment: We note that you have
disclosure associated with your 2021 reserve update on page 12,
including the 2.0 g/t cutoff grade, though do not provide adequate
details regarding the underlying calculation, including the inputs
and assumptions being made.
Please
expand your disclosures to provide a discussion of this calculation
including the appropriate modifying factors and associated
rationale.
Response: We have added the following
disclosure and detail regarding the underlying calculation to the
draft of our proposed amended 10-K.
201 N. Third Street Coeur
d’Alene, ID 83814, Phone (208) 625-9001, www.idahostrategic.com
Two
cut-off grades are used for stope planning, the go/no-go cut-off
and the in-stope cut-off. The go/no-go cut-off represents any
material that has the potential to be mined but does not have to be
mined as part of the operational plan. The go/no-go cut-off is used
for initial stope planning as any given stope or sublevel does not
have to be mined and should only be mined if it is economic. The
go/no-go cut-off is equation is presented in Equation
1.
Equation 1 go/no-go cut-off
Go/No-Go Cut-off Parameters
The
backfill costs are included in the mining cost in the above Table.
This formula yields a value of 3.18 gpt for the cut-off and was
rounded down to 3.0 gpt for a more natural break.
The
in-stope cut-off is used when material in a previously defined
stope must be mined to reach higher grades. In this scenario the
mining cost is considered sunk and is omitted from Equation 1 as
the cost was incurred regardless of the ore/waste determination at
the face. Evaluating equation 1 omitting mining cost yields a value
of 1.09 gpt which was raised to 2.0 gpt to be more selective in the
mining process.
For more information,
see Section 12-2 of Exhibit 96.1, the Technical Report Summary on
the Golden Chest Mine, Idaho, prepared for the Company by the
Qualified Person under Section 1300 of SEC Regulation S-K
(QP), Grant Brackebusch, P.E. who is the qualified
person.
3.
Comment: We note that you report
reserves as of December 31, 2021 for the Golden Chest Mine on page
12 and have filed a related Memo at Exhibit 99.2.
Please
file a Technical Report Summary for your resource/reserve
properties that conforms to Item 601(b)(96) of Regulation S-K as
required by Item 1302(b).
Response: We have uploaded a technical
report summary through our Accellion/Kiteworks account for your
review.
4.
We note that you
provide some individual property disclosures on pages 9 through 19
although without all of the prescribed information.
201 N. Third Street Coeur
d’Alene, ID 83814, Phone (208) 625-9001, www.idahostrategic.com
Comment: Please modify your disclosures
as necessary to differentiate between material and non- material
property interests, considering the guidance in Item 1301(c) of
Regulation S-K, and provide all of the required information for
your material properties to comply with Item 1304(b) of Regulation
S-K.
For
example, you must identify the location of material properties on a
map that is accurate to within one mile, using an easily
recognizable coordinate system, pursuant to Item 1304(b)(1)(i) of
Regulation S-K.
If you
do not have all of the information that would ordinarily be
disclosed to comply with this guidance, disclose the nature and
scope of any such limitations.
Response: We have updated our property
disclosures in the attached proposed draft of our amended 10-K to
consider the guidance from Item 1301(c) and 1304(b) of Regulation
S-K including differentiation between material and non-material
properties and included maps identifying the locations for material
properties.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations Results of Operations, page
25
5.
Comment: We note you report that
revenues and gross profit were both higher in 2021 compared to 2020
as a result of an increase in gold grade and tonnes processed at
the mill.
Given
that revenue was 34.5% higher than in the preceding year, and gross
profit as a percentage of sales was 6.4% in 2021 compared to 1.2%
in 2020, further details should be provided to address any material
changes in prices and costs, and to address the indicative value of
your reported financial information. For example, indicate the
timeframe over which you expect these more favorable conditions to
prevail, improve, or decline.
This
may require descriptions of trends, events and uncertainties that
have had a material impact on reported operations, or that are
reasonably likely to have a material impact on future operations,
to comply with Item 303(a), (b) and (b)(2) of Regulation
S-K.
For
example, given that you attribute these increases to higher volumes
and higher grades of ore, indicate how long you plan to be mining
higher volumes and higher grades of ore before these are depleted
or mining shifts to lower-grade deposits.
Also
address the extent to which cost of sales are correlated with
tonnes milled as opposed to mineral content or grade of ore being
mined, to facilitate an understanding of changes
in
gross profit as a percentage of sales; and explain how
treatment/smelter and refining charges are determined and address
any material changes or variability in such costs.
201 N. Third Street Coeur
d’Alene, ID 83814, Phone (208) 625-9001, www.idahostrategic.com
Response: We have expanded our comments
with regards to both revenues and gross profits. As
follows:
Revenue
from gold concentrate sales was $7,630,416 for the year ending
December 31, 2021, compared to $5,674,947 for the comparable period
in 2020. The increase in revenue from mining operations is the
result of an increase in tonnes processed at the mill and a higher
ratio of underground to open pit ore processed at the mill,
resulting in a higher average gold grade. We are anticipating this
higher underground ore ratio to continue for the foreseeable
future.
Gross
profit in 2021 was $487,877 compared to $67,546 in 2020 providing
an increase in gross profit as a percentage of sales from 1.2% in
2020 to 6.4% in 2021. The percentage increase is largely due to the
higher gold grade processed at the mill, as well as increased
mining efficiency from our new underground equipment placed in
service during the year.
Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, page
27
6.
Comment: We note that the audit report
from the independent public accounting firm on page 27 is addressed
to the shareholders of New Jersey Mining Company, and refers to the
financial statements of New Jersey Mining Company in the first
paragraph of the opinion.
Auditing Standard
3101.08 requires that the audit report include the name of the
company whose financial statements were audited. As you report
having changed the company name to Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc.
on December 6, 2021, please obtain and file a revised audit report
that refers to the company name in effect when issued.
Response: We have included an updated
audit report with the company name as of the date of filing in the
draft of our proposed amended 10-K.
Closing Comments
In
accordance with the Staff’s request, we acknowledge that the
company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and
adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review,
comments, action or absence of action by the staff.
We hope
that our response adequately addresses the Staff’s comments
and respectfully request that the Staff advise us at its earliest
convenience if the Staff believes that any of the responses set
forth in this letter are incomplete or unsatisfactory or if the
Staff has any further comments on our filings.
Sincerely,
/s/
Grant Brackebusch
Vice
President, Chief Financial Officer
201 N. Third Street Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814, Phone (208)
625-9001, www.idahostrategic.com
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Qualified Person
In
connection with the Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and any
amendments or supplements and/or exhibits thereto (collectively,
the “Form 10-K”), the undersigned consents
to:
(i) the
filing and use of the technical report summary titled
“Technical Report Summary For The Golden Chest Mine, Idaho,
U.S.A.” (the “TRS”), with an effective date of
December 31, 2021, as an exhibit to and referenced in the Form
10-K;
(ii)
the incorporation by reference of the TRS in the Registration
Statements on Form S--3, as amended (Registration No. 333-264647)
(the “Registration Statement”):
(iii)
the use of and references to our name, including our status as an
expert or “qualified person” (as defined in Subpart
1300 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the Securities and Exchange
Commission), in connection with the TRS, Form 10-K and the
Registration Statement; and
(iv)
any extracts or summaries of the TRS included or incorporated by
reference in the Form 10-K and the Registration Statement, and the
use of any information derived, summarized, quoted or referenced
from the TRS, or portions thereof, that was prepared by us, that we
supervised the preparation of, and/or that was reviewed and
approved by us, that is included or incorporated by reference in
the Form 10-K and the Registration Statement.
Dated:
October 14, 2022
By: /s/
Grant Brackebusch, P.E.
Name:
Grant Brackebusch
Exhibit 23.2
Consent of Qualified Person
In
connection with the Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and any
amendments or supplements and/or exhibits thereto (collectively,
the “Form 10-K”), the undersigned consents
to:
(i) the
filing and use of the technical report summary titled
“Technical Report Summary For The Golden Chest Mine, Idaho,
U.S.A.” (the “TRS”), with an effective date of
December 31, 2021, as an exhibit to and referenced in the Form
10-K;
(ii)
the incorporation by reference of the TRS in the Registration
Statements on Form S--3, as amended (Registration No. 333-264647)
(the “Registration Statement”):
(iii)
the use of and references to our name, including our status as an
expert or “qualified person” (as defined in Subpart
1300 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the Securities and Exchange
Commission), in connection with the TRS, Form 10-K and the
Registration Statement; and
(iv)
any extracts or summaries of the TRS included or incorporated by
reference in the Form 10-K and the Registration Statement, and the
use of any information derived, summarized, quoted or referenced
from the TRS, or portions thereof, that was prepared by us, that we
supervised the preparation of, and/or that was reviewed and
approved by us, that is included or incorporated by reference in
the Form 10-K and the Registration Statement.
Dated:
October 14, 2022
By: /s/
Robert John Morgan, PG, PLS.
Name:
Robert John Morgan