Nova Minerals revs up drilling at Estelle’s RPM deposit

Nova Minerals is accelerating exploration at the 1.24Moz gold RPM deposit, part of its larger 9.9Moz Estelle gold and critical minerals project in Alaska.

Pic: Getty Images

• Two diamond rigs are targeting extensions at the RPM North and Valley zones, with initial drillholes showing highly encouraging characteristics

• An RC rig is also targeting the glacial fill area where Nova believes there is substantial resource upside within the valley-fill material, understood to be derived from erosion of high-grade PRM North mineralisation.

• An additional rig is continuing a maiden program at the Stibium antimony-gold prospect as Nova advances its US Department of Defense funding application

Special Report: Nova Minerals is revving up drilling at the 1.24Moz gold RPM deposit within its flagship 9.9Moz Estelle gold and critical minerals project.

Making the most of Alaska’s summer field season, two diamond drill rigs and one RC rig are operating around the clock under the continuous daylight.

Diamond drilling at RPM North is focused on testing extensions to the east and west, the goal there being to connect RPM North to the RPM Valley zone (see diagrams below).

An additional rig at RPM Valley is targeting resource expansion and definition within the 514sqkm project that lies in Alaska’s prolific Tintina belt.

While Nova (ASX:NVA) is still waiting on assay results, early geological observations from the initial drillholes have encouragingly displayed similar characteristics to those previously encountered at the high-grade RPM North deposit.

Nova believes there is significant resource upside within the highly mineralised valley-fill material, which is understood to be derived from erosion of RPM North.

Exploration manager Hans Hoffman said: “We are excited to be back at RPM this season, advancing our efforts to grow and upgrade the Valley zone resource to the west, while also testing a compelling conceptual target to the east that could significantly expand the RPM footprint.

“The first drillhole into the RPM Valley zone has already delivered some of the most promising sulfide mineralisation and quartz veining observed at RPM to date.

“Encouragingly, the drilling has also extended our understanding of the mineralised intrusive body further north within the Valley zone.

“We are optimistic that the intrusive/hornfels contact intersected may represent an extension or offset of the high-grade RPM North zone located on the ridge above.”

Hoffman said the RC drilling program was also performing well in the Alaskan setting, rapidly penetrating the glacial till and confirming its effectiveness in testing the mineralised valley-fill material derived from RPM North.

“This material – averaging more than 1 gram per tonne (g/t) across surface samples and extending over 1.7km with estimated thickness of nearly 40 metres – offers substantial potential for near-surface resource upside.

“Drilling activities at RPM are progressing at full pace, and we look forward to receiving assay results in the coming months.”

More scope for growth

An additional rig is also continuing a maiden program at the Stibium antimony-gold prospect where near-surface mineralisation has been observed in initial drillholes.

Initial closed-spaced RC drilling in the Korbel starter pit area has been completed, with samples to be sent to the laboratory for analysis shortly.

Further exploration mapping and sampling, environmental baseline studies, access road projects, and various technical studies are also underway as part of the ongoing work towards completing the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS).

Critical moves

While pursuing resource growth, Nova is also working towards completion of feasibility studies for near-term gold and antimony production.

Nova is also advancing its application for US Department of Defense funding as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to secure domestic critical minerals supply chains.

A tick from the DoD would put Nova’s antimony assets in the mining-to-refining fast lane.

The Stibium prospect at Estelle, which has yielded high-grade rock samples including one at 60.5% antimony, is seen as a frontrunner in stepping into the critical mineral’s supply breach.

RFC Ambrian said earlier this year it could identify only nine projects globally that had the potential for near-term antimony production, with one of them being Estelle.

Antimony prices have surged more than 500% from US$12,000/t at the beginning of 2024 to the current US$60,100/t. That followed dominant supplier China restricting imports into the US last September, then completely banning them in December.

Some analysts are forecasting prices to reach at least US$100,000 given the critical mineral’s supply constraints.

A diagram of the Estelle gold and critical minerals project. Pic: NVA

The RPM area, including RPM North and the Starter Pit area. Pic: NVA

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.

Originally published as Nova Minerals revs up drilling at Estelle’s RPM deposit