5. Mineral Properties

Mineral properties at December 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:

For the year ended December 31, 2021, $49,273 of interest expense was capitalized in association with the ramp access project at the Golden Chest. No interest was capitalized in 2020.

Golden Chest

The Golden Chest is an open pit and underground mine project currently producing for the Company located near Murray, Idaho consisting of 25 patented and 70 unpatented mining claims. A 2% Net Smelter Royalty is payable on production at the Golden Chest to a former joint venture partner. Royalty expense of $151,763 and $114,204 was recognized as costs of sales and other direct production costs in the years ended December 31, 2021, and 2020, respectively. 

New Jersey

The Coleman property is located at the New Jersey Mine area of interest and consists of 62 acres of patented mining claims, mineral rights to 108 acres of fee land, 80 acres of land for which the Company owns the surface but not the mineral rights, and approximately 130 acres of unpatented mining claims. 

McKinley-Monarch

The McKinley-Monarch project is located near the town of Lucille, Idaho. The project consists of 28 unpatented claims totaling 560 acres. The Company started exploring the property in 2013.

Butte Potosi

In 2018, the Company purchased the Butte and Potosi properties near its Golden Chest mine. These properties consists of patented mining claims some of which include both the surface and mineral rights and some of which include only the mineral rights. There is an underlying 2% net smelter return on all ores mined and shipped from any lode production from the patented claims on the Butte property. 

Alder Gulch

In February 2020, the Company purchased property located in Alder Gulch just north of Murray in Shoshone County, Idaho which consists of 368 acres of real property, including patented mining claims with both surface and mineral rights. In February 2021, the Company paid $10,000 and in April of 2021, the Company paid an additional $1,689,965 to complete the purchase of approximately 512 acres of land adjacent to the Alder Gulch property for a total of $1,699,965. The Company started exploring the property in 2020.

Park Copper

In August 2021, the Company paid $78,000 in cash for 100 acres of patented mineral property in Shoshone County referred to as Park Copper.