Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, OTCQB:NVAAF) has discovered two new broad zones of surface gold mineralisation at the Revelation prospect, part of the company’s flagship Estelle Gold Project in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt of Alaska.
Despite challenging weathering and alteration conditions, the exploration team collected 25 rock samples, with four exceeding 1 g/t gold, including a high-grade sample of 3.4 g/t gold.
Additionally, 35 soil samples were obtained, with 13 containing more than 0.5 g/t gold, including a peak value of 2.9 g/t gold.
These discoveries come hot on the heels of the company's recent announcement of a record 1,290 g/t gold sample at the Shoeshine prospect.
Find follows spate of good news
During the company’s 2023 exploration mapping and sampling program, head of exploration Hans Hoffman conducted extensive surface exploration activities over 100 line kilometres, collecting 674 soil samples, 446 rock samples and 21 stream sediment samples.
These efforts have yielded substantial results:
Nova has expanded its mining claims by 63 square kilometres in Alaska.
Soil and rock chip samples have led to the identification of two new gold-antimony prospect areas named Stibium and Styx.
The Train and Trumpet prospects revealed high-grade gold, silver, copper and antimony through assay results and re-examination of multi-element data.
Nova's Revelation prospect, measuring around 500 metres long by 300 metres wide, is centred on jarosite-stained cliffs of granodiorite to quartz monzonite intruding hornfelsed Kahiltna flysch sediments.
The anomaly has been extended nearly 200 metres to the west based on the 2023 sampling.
The Revelation prospect is primarily a gold play, with no other highly anomalous elements discovered.
Nova head of exploration Hans Hoffman said: “Field crews have been picking away at the Revelation prospect since 2021. Revelation has had great access on low weather days, and when the rest of the property is socked in, crews are generally able to access the greater Revelation valley.
“While Revelation may not host the >10 g/t gold rocks we see elsewhere on the property, the consistent >1 g/t gold in soil anomaly is impressive in its own regard.
“Mineralisation is believed to continue undercover across valley to the south where a couple of soil samples give evidence of continued gold mineralisation.
“Further work both down valley to the west and up valley to the east is warranted. Drilling at the main anomaly will be the only true test of mineralisation in the extremely altered and weathered granodiorite host.”
Persistence pays off
CEO Christopher Gerteisen added: “The exploration teams have long recognised the potential of this prospect area which shows a very strong colour and alteration anomaly at surface.
“These results are another example of how persistence pays off with two new very broad gold targets being confirmed this year.
"While most of the exploration thus far at Estelle has been focused along the centre of the property, the Revelation discovery, as well the new discovery at Styx this year, highlights the potential of the western strip of the claims for gold, antimony and other elements.
“We recognise this potential now more than ever and it will definitely be an area in which we will continue to follow up and chase further significant upside as we move forward.”
Nova anticipates providing more surface sampling exploration results in the coming weeks, along with drill results from the RPM North and RPM Valley drilling programs.
Further analysis of the Estelle Gold Project is available on the company’s website.