Nova Minerals hits high-grade gold in Alaska as it eyes 2025 prefeasibility

Infill drilling at Nova Minerals’ (ASX: NVA; NASDAQ: NVA) RPM project in south-central Alaska has confirmed the continuity of near-surface high-grade gold mineralization as the company works towards a prefeasibility study for next year. Shares of the Melbourne-based company rose 9%.

Highlight hole RPMRC-24005 cut 43 metres grading 4.4 grams gold per tonne from 2 meters depth, including 23 metres at 7.3 grams gold and 13 metres at 10.7 grams from 2 metres, and 2 metres at 39.2 grams gold from 13 metres.

Hole RPMRC-24006 returned 21 metres grading 3.5 grams gold from 2 metres, including 19 metres at 3.9 grams gold from 3 metres and 6 metres at 7.1 grams gold from 5 metres.

“These results speak for themselves and we believe will add considerable value to the upcoming resource update and ultimately the prefeasibility study which will be focused on RPM as a scale-able low capex/high margin project with future expansion plans achieved through cashflow as soon as possible,” Christopher Gerteisen, Nova CEO, said in a release on Wednesday. “With further 2024 drill results to follow in short order, these results, along with the 2023 drilling will be included in the upcoming resource update.”

The 21-hole reverse circulation drill program that started in July was aimed at infilling and proving near-surface inferred resources in RPM North’s high-grade core. The program also targeted extending drilling south of RPM North to test a possible link with the RPM Valley zone about 150 metres to the southwest.

The latest holes pierced areas above the measured and indicated core at RPM North, located inside the RPM target and on the north end of Nova’s wider Estelle flagship project about 150 km northwest of Anchorage. Estelle sits on the Tintina Gold belt, a highly prospective province for the yellow metal that hosts Barrick Gold‘s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) Donlin Creek project and Kinross Gold‘s (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) Fort Knox mine.

Nova shares gained 9% to A18¢ apiece on Wednesday in Sydney, valuing the company at A$47.5 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of A13¢ to A43¢.

Gold prices remain at historic highs and touched US$2,605.50 per oz. on Wednesday.

Hunt for domestic antimony

Results from more than 500 soil and 225 rock samples collected for the 2024 surface exploration program also targeted critical minerals such as antimony, a byproduct of gold production that is important for national defence, clean energy and technology applications. The United States has no domestic production of the mineral and China controls almost half of antimony’s global mined output. On Sept. 15, the East Asian country started restricting antimony exports.

Perpetua Resources (TSX: PPTA; NASDAQ: PPTA) is targeting the U.S.’s only known domestic source of antimony at its Stibnite project in Idaho, which hosts 148 million lb. of the metal. 

RPM North hosts a pit-constrained resource of 4.4 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 2.4 grams gold for 330,000 oz., and 23 million inferred tonnes at 0.6 grams gold for 450,000 oz., according to an update in April.