Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, OTCQB:NVAAF) has summarised its key achievements of 2023 as the company continues to unlock the Estelle Gold District in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt in Alaska.
Last year Nova continued to show both the scale and strength of its flagship Estelle Gold Project on its path to production.
The company’s key activities and achievements over the past year include the production of a very robust phase 2 scoping study, a targeted drill program at the RPM area returning more outstanding drill results with plenty of clear potential upside, and an extensive surface exploration program across the entire 513-square-kilometre project site, resulting in the discovery of a number of new exciting prospects.
Moving into 2024 Nova will continue with its rigorous pre-feasibility (PFS) level studies along with targeted drill programs at the project’s RPM and Train areas as it continues to move the project toward production.
It is working towards an updated global mineral resource estimate, including silver that has the potential to provide significant by-product credits, and exploring the antimony opportunity.
Top highlights from 2023
Further exceptional drill results
High-grade infill and step-out drilling at RPM North confirmed the consistency of mineralisation and resource extension potential at RPM North to the south, east and at depth, with more than 10 broad intersections grading more than 5 grams per tonne of gold. Highlighted results include:
- 152 metres at 2.3 g/t gold from 3 metres, including 98 metres at 3.4 g/t from 48 metres and 38 metres at 7.5 g/t from 99 metres (RPM-056);
- 211 metres at 3.2 g/t gold from 3 metres, including 120 metres at 5.0 g/t from 93 metres and 79 metres at 7.4 g/t from 128 metres (RPM-057); and
- 314 metres at 1.9 g/t gold from 2 metres, including 231 metres at 2.4 g/t from 39 metres and 118 metres at 3.9 g/t from 152 metres (RPM-065).
Nova expects to receive assay results shortly from the RPM Valley area, which were drilled to follow up initial intercepts from previous drilling to potentially confirm and prove up resources in this newly discovered zone.
Extensive surface exploration program
During the 2023 field season, Nova’s head of exploration Hans Hoffman undertook an extensive surface exploration mapping and sampling program across the entire Estelle Gold Project. It comprised more than 45 traverses covering 100-line kilometres, 674 soil samples, 446 rock samples and 21 stream sediment samples.
The program has resulted in a number of significant new discoveries including:
- A record 1,290 g/t gold rock chip sample, along with many other samples returning high grades for gold, antimony, copper and silver at the Shoeshine and Shadow prospects.
- The discovery of one of the most continuous high-grade zones of mineralisation on the property at the new Discovery and Muddy Creek prospects, with a 1.5-kilometre-long surface gold anomaly, including 18 rock samples grading more than 10 g/t gold, with a high of 127.5 g/t.
- The identification of two new gold-antimony prospect areas, Stibium and Styx with surface samples returning highs of 12.7 g/t gold, 2.1% antimony, 1,600 g/t silver and 1.5 g/t gold, 60.5% antimony.
- Numerous high-grade gold, silver, copper and antimony at the Train and Trumpet prospects with a high of 132.5 g/t gold, 1.2% copper and 0.1% antimony. One sample returned a very high 16.8% antimony.
- Additional State of Alaska mining claims staked — the project area now spans more than 513 square kilometres.
Nova expects more discoveries to still be announced as a significant number of assay results are still pending from this extensive program.
Robust phase 2 scoping study
Nova delivered a very robust phase 2 scoping study, significantly de-risking the project and confirming the potential for a commercially robust mining operation.
It determined a project value (NPV5%) of US$654 million, an internal rate of return of 53% and very fast capital payback of just 11 months.
New gold-antimony targets discovered
The discovery of high-grade stibnite — a primary ore source for antimony — associated with the gold systems at several prospects across the project site, was a significant development for Nova. Antimony is listed as a critical and strategic mineral to US economic and national security interests with no current US domestic supply.
While the potential scale of this discovery continues to be assessed by Nova’s technical team, it has appointed a highly reputable national consulting group and assembled a highly influential internal team to assist in accessing any potential US federal grants and funding to further investigate and progress the discovery across the entire supply chain.
Given the additional value that antimony could add to the project — via the potential to provide substantial bi-product credits amongst other benefits — antimony will now also be included in any future studies.
Strategic review
As part of its ongoing PFS-level studies, Nova last year began a strategic review of the project. This resulted in the appointment of leading mining and metallurgical engineers METS Engineering in Australia and Rough Stock Mining Services in Alaska to establish a ‘right size’ starter operation with the view to minimise capex, find a steady state mine plan and clear expansion plans.
The final report from this review process is not expected until early in the second quarter of 2024, but to date, the consultant’s geotechnical work has confirmed that the pit slope can be increased to 50 degrees, from the 45 degrees which was used in the phase 2 scoping study, which is expected to provide economic upside.
Nova’s plan for 2024
Nova is looking forward to its 2024 exploration program, having a strong treasury, access to numerous funding sources, and five drill rigs (four diamond and one RC) on-site at the Whiskey Bravo Camp.
While the scale and exact nature of the 2024 program is still to be finalised, it will primarily consist of targeted drill programs in the RPM and Train areas.
At RPM the program will be designed to further increase the confidence of the resource and to specifically test the potential extension of the high-grade core, which the drilling in 2023 has shown remains open to the south, east and at depth.
In the Train area, the drilling will be designed to follow up on the promising results obtained from the high-grade rock and soil samples discovered in 2023.
In addition to the drill program, in 2024 the company will also:
- Complete an updated global mineral resource estimate, which this year is also intended to include silver which has the potential to provide significant by-product credits, with higher indicated resources and improvements on the mill feed grade being the focus.
- Complete its strategic review with a focus on getting into production as soon as possible and continue to complete its rigorous PFS-level studies.
- Complete the listing on a major US exchange.
- Announce any further potential new discoveries as assay results continue to come in from the extensive 2023 surface exploration mapping and sampling program.
- Update the market on the exciting antimony opportunity as discussions continue to progress.
A "unique opportunity" at Estelle
Nova CEO Christopher Gerteisen said: “The work we conducted in 2023 has continued to illustrate the unique opportunity that we have at the Estelle Gold Project, and we will now look to grow on the successes achieved with outstanding potential for exploration upside and further discoveries in 2024 with all results to be incorporated into an updated resource estimate for the PFS.
“In addition, we are very aware of the value in domestically sourced critical mineral, antimony and we are looking at these discoveries from many angles with multiple parties to define and bring online and will keep you updated as those discussions progress.
“The in-depth formal strategic review process and PFS studies across the Estelle Gold Project are now well underway, which aim to study additional processing options to further optimise our flow sheet at the lowest possible capex and set a faster path to commercial production.
“While key objectives of the strategic review remain a work in progress, we will keep our shareholders updated as relevant studies are completed."