Ireland Inc. provided an update on the technical program of its ongoing precious metals extraction process at the Columbus Project, located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Technical Update: Purchased larger capacity 25 Kw furnace; received and are finalizing installation and set-up. Purchased a PerkinElmer ICP-MS and a Benchtop Electron Microscope, two pieces of analytical equipment, received, installed in on-site laboratory. Purchased a 50 Kw furnace for increased production capacity; delivery is expected in June. Palladium Extraction: As previously announced on January 19, 2017, recent work at the onsite laboratory and the pilot plant has created a potential new source of additional value to the Columbus Project. Testing of the gold smelting process on materials thermally treated at the pilot plant has given rise to the development of a separate smelting step that has resulted in palladium (Pd) extraction rates significantly higher than previously identified. The discovery of material quantities of extractable Pd in both the sand and the concentrates is financially very significant to the project. Testing - Recap of Gold and Palladium Pilot Plant and Laboratory Extraction: Pilot plant circuit, including thermal pretreatment, leach (TPAC) and concentration are capable of processing 500lbs of sands per test. Volume scale tests (500lbs) of the pilot plant TPAC and concentrating circuits are ongoing. Current two-step smelting method: Pd is extracted in the first smelt then followed by Au in the second smelt. Optimization of the smelt process on Lab samples (42g to 416g) is currently underway. Pilot plant concentrates (±7,500g) will be processed after optimization is completed. Results of smelting tests on pretreated sands resulted in the extraction of palladium at levels significantly above the previously identified levels of the metal. Pd extraction rates averaged 0.59 opt Pd, or 0.354 opt gold equivalent (AuE) based on 1oz Pd = 0.6oz Au, on samples taken from the same location.