Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA) has defined an extensive gold and antimony-rich zone at the Estelle Project’s Stibium prospect in Alaska, US, with soil and rock chip samples grading up to 141 g/t gold and 60.5% antimony.
With the gold price still hovering near all-time highs at US$2,717 per ounce, and antimony skyrocketing from US$17,240 per tonne in 2023 to US$33,367 by October 2024 due to China’s export restriction, Stibium could be a lucrative opportunity with strong economic potential.
“The Stibium prospect now has a very well-defined high-grade gold-antimony target that is ready for resource drilling,” Nova Minerals CEO Christopher Gerteisen said.
“Defining a gold-antimony resource at Stibium and advancing towards antimony production is a top priority for the company which is seeking US Government grant funding to aggressively pursue this opportunity.
“We are currently preparing and gearing up to commence 2025 field activities as soon as possible, which includes resource drilling programs at Stibium and RPM.
“The Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project is in the right place, at the right time, with the right commodities.”
Large prospective zone
Nova has plotted the results from 180 soil samples taken around Stibium to outline the prospect’s mineralised zone.
For soil samples grades above 1 g/t gold and 0.1% antimony are considered high-grade – more than 35 soil samples held gold content above 1 g/t and as high as 35.6 g/t gold, and a further 10 samples demonstrated antimony content above 0.1% and up to 2.8%.
Antimony soils heat map highlighting resource drill targets
The company has also collected more than 200 rock chip samples, with best grades received to date including:
Gold:
- 141.0 g/t gold,
- 64.7 g/t gold,
- 62.3 g/t gold,
- 42.8 g/t gold,
- 34.8 g/t gold,
- 29.1 g/t gold,
- 22.3 g/t gold.
Antimony:
- 60.5% antimony,
- 56.7% antimony,
- 55.7% antimony,
- 54.8% antimony,
- 54.5% antimony,
- 46.2% antimony,
- 45.9% antimony,
- 43.3% antimony.
Nova has defined Stibium over an 800-metre-long by 400-metre-wide zone, hosted in quartz diorite intrusive rocks and hornfels sedimentary rock, remaining open for further exploration and potential mineral extensions.
“Impressive” gold and antimony anomaly
“With the final soil results received we can clearly see from the heat map the extent of this impressive gold and antimony anomaly,” Nova Minerals head of exploration Hans Hoffman said.
“The main ridge at Stibium offers great access to the north and the south where we intend to drill the identified high-grade stibnite veins, gold-bearing quartz veins, and the mineralised hydrothermal breccia.
“The ridge will provide for easy startup in 2025 requiring minimal drill pad construction and easier access to water due to its lower altitude than other Estelle prospects.”
Nova, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Alaska Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) LLC, is a member of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC), and moved quickly to begin the Dept of Defense (DoD) grant application process.
As a critical mineral vital to defence applications including infrared sensors, semiconductors, night vision goggles and munitions production, antimony is a mineral with high national security importance for the US Government and the European Union, with both 100% reliant on imports of the metal.
Supply has been constrained after China restricted exports of antimony, having accounted for 48% of global antimony production in 2023 and holding the world’s largest deposit containing about 32% of global antimony resources.
Nova intends to bring Stibium to production as one of the first US-based antimony mines, tapping directly into US demand for the critical mineral.