Nova Minerals set to unlock Estelle’s strategic value with large-scale drill program
Nova Minerals is kicking off an extensive drilling campaign at its flagship 9.9Moz Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska.
Nova Minerals to start 15,000m drilling campaign at its Estelle project to advance the RPM and Korbel gold deposits toward feasibility and permitting
Resource drilling at the Stibium prospect will target both gold and antimony at the Alaskan project
Continuous drilling will be enabled by near 24-hour daylight during the northern summer, with plans to scale up operations pending DoD funding
Special Report: Nova Minerals is all set to spin the drills over 15,000m at the Estelle gold and critical minerals project in its drive to unlock the value of its large and strategic asset.
Helicopters, pad building crews, drillers and geologists have now landed at Nova Minerals’ (ASX:NVA) flagship 9.9Moz asset in Alaska to start preparations for the ambitious program that will commence in coming weeks.
Infill and expansion drilling at the 1.24Moz RPM and 6.64Moz Korbel deposits will focus on shifting Estelle’s key gold deposits towards feasibility and permitting.
At the Stibium prospect, initial drilling will target a maiden resource for both gold and critical mineral antimony.
As gold and antimony trade at near all-time highs and amid forecasts of more hikes, Nova is making the most of the near 24-hour daylight during Alaska’s summer to schedule round-the-clock drilling on a rotational basis, seven days a week.
The campaign will run for at least three months, but the company says the drilling strategy will be continuously evaluated and adjustments made as needed based on drill core observations.
Additionally, extra diamond drill rigs will be brought in if Nova is successful in its application for US Department of Defense (DoD) funding to fast track its antimony assets through to initial production of antimony for military-grade applications by 2026.
Nova Minerals set to benefit from Executive Orders
In a significant policy shift designed to strengthen US energy security and cut reliance on foreign mineral imports, a new Executive Order – Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production – has prioritised the expansion of domestic mineral production.
The directive allocates substantial funding to mining and critical mineral initiatives while streamlining regulatory processes. It offers a favourable landscape for companies such as Nova Minerals, which is leading exploration and development efforts in Alaska.
Another Executive Order – Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential – aims to tap into Alaska’s abundant reserves of critical minerals, with Alaska emerging as a key player in the US strategy to expand domestic mineral production.
US Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, has announced new initiatives aimed at streamlining permitting processes and attracting greater investment in the state’s resource-rich industries. These efforts are expected to fast-track project development and channel increased funding into Alaska’s mining sector.
As one of the key players in Alaska’s mining industry, Nova Minerals is uniquely positioned to benefit from the new measures, which offer access to expedited permitting, increased federal funding and growing support for the development of Alaska’s critical mineral resources. With the state's vast potential now being unlocked through these policy changes, Nova Minerals has the potential to play a leading role in the future of US mineral production and energy independence.
Nova CEO, Mr Christopher Gerteisen said: “We are excited to commence the 2025 field season with a 15,000-metre drilling program aimed at unlocking further value across our Estelle Project.
“This campaign will focus on advancing the RPM and Korbel gold deposits toward feasibility and permitting, while also initiating a maiden resource at the Stibium prospect for both gold and antimony.
“With both metals trading near historic highs, the strategic significance and potential economic return of these near-surface assets underscore Nova’s strong growth trajectory and long-term value proposition.”
In the gold zones
Nova is strategically assessing two key development paths: a smaller-scale, fast-tracked start-up mine at the high-grade RPM deposit, and a more ambitious option that combines both the RPM and Korbel deposits.
Although the integrated approach would require a larger capital investment, it offers the potential to create a significantly larger, long-life mining operation, potentially spanning several decades –making the additional expenditure a strategic consideration.
RPM has consistently validated its potential through multiple high-grade drill results, including an impressive intercept of 132 metres at 10.1 g/t gold. In last year’s campaign, the deposit delivered 20 broad intercepts exceeding 5 g/t gold near surface, highlighted by a 2-metre interval averaging 52.7 g/t.
The drilling also expanded the high-grade core zone at RPM, which begins at surface. This year, a key focus will be on expanding the RPM pit area to enhance resource confidence and support further growth.
The larger-scale development option includes the 6.64Moz bulk-tonnage Korbel deposit, located within the mineralized Korbel Valley that currently holds a resource of 8.65Moz and remains open at surface.
Nova is advancing a pit design for Korbel to showcase the potential of an expanded project. This years’ drilling in the Korbel area will primarily focus on assessing a potential higher-grade starter pit at Korbel Main, with the option to extend exploration to other high-priority targets throughout the wider valley.
Antimony targets
At the Stibium prospect, mapping and sampling completed in 2023 revealed an extensive antimony-rich zone with grades up to 60.5% antimony. A head-turning result.
Last year’s follow-up rock sampling confirmed this discovery, with high-grade antimony revealed over an 800m long by 400m wide zone and grades up to 56.7% antimony and 11 samples grading over 30%.
The US is fast ramping up efforts to kickstart a domestic supply chain of the critical mineral. This comes amid antimony’s price skyrocketing over the past year and exports of antimony to the country receiving a ban by dominant producer China.
Given the potential size and tenor of the antimony discovery at Stibium, Nova is actively progressing its application for DoD grants available for antimony projects.
The funding would be used to extend drilling at Stibium and potentially start drill testing at the highly prospective Styx target. Nova would then accelerate the establishment of a mineral resource estimate for antimony at Estelle, as well as its eventual production.
Extensive sweep
An extensive regional surface exploration program across the 500km2-plus project will run in parallel with drilling. This will involve field teams conducting geological mapping, geochemical sampling and target delineation. The focus will be on identifying and advancing new high-priority prospects to support future resource growth at Estelle.
Nova will test for a suite of multi-elements, encouraged by assay results from rock chip samples identifying high-grade gallium at the Wombat prospect earlier this year. Like antimony, critical mineral gallium is subject to a recent export ban by major supplier China into the US.
This article was developed in collaboration with Nova Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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