Nova goes full out to unlock Estelle gold and antimony value

Nova Minerals gears up for development and more resource growth at its flagship Estelle gold and critical minerals project in Alaska

Strong tailwinds are expected from the Trump administration and its determination to onshore critical minerals supply following China’s ban on antimony and other commodities

M&A activity is also expected to heat up in the sector, especially if equity valuations remain cheap

Special Report: With its flagship project in a premium location hosting two of the world’s most hotly demanded resources, gold and antimony, Nova Minerals is gearing up for a busy 2025 and beyond.

In Alaska’s prolific Tintina belt, home to Barrick’s Donlin Creek gold project and Kinross’s Fort Knox gold mine, Nova Minerals’ (ASX:NVA) Estelle gold and critical minerals project has a current JORC global resource 9.9Moz, with high grades close to surface. But it seems that there is more to come.

Estelle’s mineralisation is hosted across a 35-kilometre-long corridor which contains samples grading as high as 1,290 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 60.5% antimony.

The company’s flagship project has more than 20 advanced gold and antimony prospects, four of them known large IRGS (intrusion related gold system) deposits.

And with less than 5% of the 514sqkm property explored there’s plenty of exploration upside – especially in a province with a documented gold endowment of more than 220 million ounces that has potential to be Nevada’s ‘Carlin trend’ of the north.

Nova will also have a sharp focus on progressing its antimony prospects given the mineral’s price skyrocketed over 200% to US$38,000 per tonne this year following China’s blanket ban on exports to the US in December.

The ban followed earlier partial restrictions introduced by China in September, sparking a race in the US to find domestic sources of the mineral – essential for defence and energy applications.

Making inroads into resource upgrade

One of the key upcoming milestones is a resource update scheduled for early 2025 at Estelle. This follows successful gold exploration programs this year.

At RPM, drilling extended the high-grade core zone and yielded 20 broad intercepts of more than 5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold as well as one very high assay of 52.7 g/t gold.

To support development, Nova has started the permitting process for haul roads across the Estelle claim blocks. Making this process easier, Estelle is 100% on state land in mining friendly Alaska, with no federal or native titles.

Later in 2025 Nova is looking forward to releasing its pre-feasibility study (PFS).

CEO Christopher Gerteisen said: “Our successful exploration efforts provide a solid foundation for our upcoming studies.

“As one of the largest undeveloped gold projects globally, Estelle holds significant upside, with valuable resources such as gold, antimony, copper, silver, and other critical elements still to be explored.”

Drills revved up at RPM

The pivotal RPM deposit at Estelle already has a gold resource of 1,240,000 oz including a high-grade core, but in 2025 Nova will start a drilling program on targets across the wider RPM area. A priority target for resource growth will be expanding the high-grade RPM North pit area.

Nova has already commenced mine engineering and optimisation studies at the RPM mining complex which will feed into the PFS.

The studies at RPM North and the upcoming wider project expansion studies, which will include Korbel (see below), will help inform Nova’s choice on whether to proceed with either a start-up mine at RPM or a larger-scale option, including the bulk tonnage Korbel deposit plus other regional prospects.

The first strategy would draw on internal funds for organic expansion. The second would leverage the interest of larger gold miners as strategic partners.

Metallurgical studies will also be completed on high grade RPM ore, as well as heap leach test work on the halo mineralisation hosting approximately 1 g/t of gold.

Korbel Valley hub

Korbel Valley, which has a current resource of a massive 8,650,000 oz gold and remains wide open from surface, will be another priority for Nova in 2025.

With optimisation experts Whittle Consulting, Nova will advance the Korbel pit design to demonstrate the expanded larger project potential in the coming year.

Korbel’s two current deposits, Korbel Main and Cathedral, have the potential to provide ore feed for the proposed long-life Korbel processing plant.

Within Korbel, Nova is hoping to grow its gold resource even further by targeting the Cathedral deposit, which has demonstrated significant opportunity for higher grade “blow out” zones.

There will also be further exploration at the prospects within the greater Train area. Sampling to date as shown the existence of massive intrusives which have multi-element potential, including indications of a potentially very large gold target and antimony.

Stibium means antimony

Nova hit paydirt in 2023 when mapping and sampling revealed an extensive antimony-rich zone at the Stibium deposit with grades up to 60.5% antimony.

This 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 as well as 11 samples grading over 30%.

Nova also collected a 2500kg bulk sample for metallurgical tests, with results from this test work likely in 2025.

Ongoing systematic exploration early next year will include drilling at the Stibium discovery and the Styx prospect.

As the US urgently seeks domestic sources of antimony for national security and energy, US Department of Defense (DoD) funding could be a feature in 2025.

Nova, through its 100% owned subsidiary Alaska Range Resources, is well advanced with a DoD grant application process. Subject to receiving such a grant, Nova could kickstart production as soon as next year.

Another positive is that incoming President Trump favours “reshoring” critical mineral supply chains.

And to the Last Frontier state, President-elect Trump sent a video message three days after his election this year vowing “to ensure Alaska can take advantage of every opportunity to explore and develop its tremendous resources”.

M&A action set to heat up

Amid forecasts of falling borrowing costs and higher prices for critical minerals, top-tier law firm Allens predicts a wave of dealmaking to build in the sector next year.

This year deals in the sector totalled $14.8 billion and the firm said the momentum would continue in 2025.

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.