Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, OTCQB:NVAAF) is ramping up exploration efforts in the quest for more glitter, with diamond drilling underway at the highly-prospective Train prospect within its flagship Estelle Gold Project in Alaska.
An additional rig has been mobilised at the prospect to ramp up a drill program designed to test gold observations at surface.
Up to 12 diamond holes are planned to be drilled into select targets that were the source of high-grade rock chip samples, with the aim of developing a maiden inferred resource this year.
The rock-chip sampling along a 1.5-kilometre gold trend returned results such as 80.2 g/t gold, 30.4 g/t gold, 24.5 g/t gold, 21.6 g/t gold and 17.9 g/t gold.
Unlocking potential
The gold explorer and developer intends to define a third major resource area after the Korbel and RPM deposits and the fifth large gold deposit at the district-scale Estelle Gold Project before the end of the year.
The project, on the Estelle Gold Trend in Alaska’s prolific Tintina Gold Belt, contains multiple mining complexes across a 35-kilometre-long mineralised corridor of more than 20 identified gold prospects, including two already defined deposits containing a combined 9.9 million ounces of gold.
“We are excited to be putting the first holes into our never before drill tested Train prospect, where surface gold occurrences collected over several years by geologists have indicated that another large IRGS gold structure, similar to the high-grade structure at RPM, may be hosted,” Nova chief executive officer Christopher Gerteisen said.
“The first pass exploration drilling at Train this year has been specifically designed to test the mineralised structures and controls on mineralisation, along with lithology, alteration styles and mineralisation types, to better understand where the gold expressed at surface originates from.
“Subject to the results of this drilling, the aim is to develop a maiden inferred resource at Train this year.”
Train drill pad location with rock chip sample highlights.
RPM drill programs
On its exploration activities at RPM North and RPM South, Nova said drilling at both targets had now been completed, with assays pending.
The drill rigs have been moved to focus on a second intrusive, which was intersected in the lower part of holes RPM-037 and RPM-025.
Drilling here returned results including:
- RPM-037 - 103 metres at 1.0 g/t gold, including 30 metres at 1.9 g/t, and 21 metres at 2.5 g/t from 325 metres;
- RPM-037 – 79 metres at 1.0 g/t gold from 471 metres, including 30 metres at 2.0 g/t from 501 metres; and
- RPM-025 – 76 metres at 1.2 g/t gold from 440 metres, including 43 metres at 1.5 g/t from 474 metres.
Drilling the second intrusive in the valley at RPM.
Strategic review
To fast-track Estelle into commercial production quicker, Nova has commenced a strategic review of the project and released the results of a recently completed scoping study.
“The board has commenced a strategic review, including further optimisation studies, designed to investigate how the company can get Estelle into commercial production quicker, as part of the ongoing PFS trade-off studies,” Gerteisen said.
“We look forward to reporting the results from both the drill campaign at Train and the optimisation studies as they are received.”
Read more on Proactive Investors AU
