KELLOGG, IDAHO. New Jersey Mining Company (OTCBB:NJMC) is pleased to announce that its exploration ramp at the Golden Chest mine near Murray, Idaho has intercepted the target gold vein. A strong quartz vein up to 2 meters in thickness was cut by the exploration ramp. Chip samples across the vein have assayed as high as 37.4 grams of gold per tonne (1.09 ounces per ton) across 1.8 meters of true thickness.

The ramp project has been successful in exposing high grade gold ore originally drilled by Newmont Exploration. The gold-quartz vein is hosted by a quartzite unit of the Prichard formation and is open along dip because historic exploration did not explore the down dip projection of this gold vein. Further drifting will be required to determine the strike length of the vein. Scheelite, a tungsten mineral, occurs with the gold mineralization, and it may prove to be a significant byproduct.

According to Fred Brackebusch, President: "High grade gold ore can be produced from the new vein after minimal capital investment at the Golden Chest mine. In addition, exploration of the new vein can now be done efficiently from the new ramp and from the knowledge of the vein’s dip and strike. The new vein adds significantly to the potential of the Golden Chest mine which also has a potentially open-pittable, drill-indicated resource of approximately 250,000 ounces of gold."

Approximately 40 meters (130 feet) of drifting has been completed to the northeast along the strike of the vein, and chip samples across the vein have been collected at the start of each shift. Assay results from last week’s drifting are pending. Drifting to the southwest was not undertaken at this time since a deep diamond drillhole from the surface was still in progress in this area.

Development ore from drifting on the vein is being stockpiled at the Golden Chest portal site. About six hundred tonnes of development ore has been stockpiled, and will be processed at the New Jersey mill in August once the flotation circuit is operational. A gravity circuit will also be employed to recover any visible gold. Milling of the development ore will essentially provide a bulk sample of the vein.

This will be the last week of drifting on the vein as the project budget has been reached. Efforts will now focus on engineering activities such as surveying, compilation of vein assays, resource-reserve calculations, and mine planning to determine the feasibility of a gold mining operation at the Golden Chest. The ore would be shipped to the New Jersey mill for processing.

New Jersey Mining Company is involved in exploring for and developing gold, silver and base metal ore resources in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District of northern Idaho. The Company has a portfolio of six mineral properties in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District: the New Jersey mine, the Silver Strand mine, the Golden Chest mine, the Lost Eagle project, the CAMP project and the Wisconsin-Teddy project.