Nova Minerals drills more high gold grades in Alaska ahead of resource update

Nova Minerals‘ (NASDAQ: NVA; ASX: NVA) shares soared on Wednesday after the Alaska-focused gold explorer delivered high grades from the final six holes at the RPM starter pit of its flagship Estelle project.

Shares in Nova Minerals closed 15% higher in Sydney on Wednesday at A23¢ apiece, valuing the company at A$62.6 million ($57.4 million). They’ve traded in a 52-week range of A12¢ to A42¢. 

Nova extended the RPM North core zone to surface with over 20 intercepts grading more than 5 grams gold per tonne with a high of 52.7 grams, the company said on Wednesday. Highlighting the new results was one intercept of 29 metres grading 7.1 grams from surface, it said. 

“The 2024 drill results have confirmed a broad zone of high-grade mineralization starting at surface at RPM North,” Nova CEO Christopher Gerteisen said in a release. “This should prove positive for our upcoming studies focused on executing our current strategy to fast track development of RPM as a scaleable low capex/high margin starter operation.”

Tintina gold belt

The 500-sq.-km Estelle project, which Gerteisen says is one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold projects, lies along Alaska’s Tintina gold belt. The Melbourne-based company anticipates that the 2023-24 drilling will “add significant ounces” to the measured and indicated categories totaling 330,000 oz. at 2.4 grams. Nova plans to update its RPM North resource this year and continue a pre-feasibility study. 

The company’s 21-hole drill program achieved a primary objective of infilling near-surface inferred resources defining the up-dip extension of RPM North core zone, a high-grade discovery located in Estelle’s south,  It met another goal of extending drilling from the RPM North resource to link with the newly discovered RPM Valley zone 150 metres to the southwest, Nova said.

The project has four deposits across two main areas, Korbel and RPM. Previous drilling at RPM North returned gold grades as high as 11.1 grams per tonne. The project’s resources in all categories are estimated at 1.1 billion tonnes grading 0.3 gram gold for 9.9 million oz. contained gold.

The company intends to commence RPM’s starter mine as soon as possible to generate cash flow for the larger project’s needs.