The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - October 23, 2024
The 21 holes drilled by Nova this year focused on expanding and upgrading the higher-grade gold mineralization within the RPM deposit at Estelle.
The 2024 drilling at RPM primarily targeted a core zone where mining is envisioned to begin.
Nova Minerals Ltd. Oct. 23 reported that strong gold mineralization encountered in the final six holes of its 2024 drill program at Estelle continues to support the potential of developing a smaller starter mine at the higher-grade RPM gold deposit that can be scaled up to take advantage of the multi-million-ounce potential of this gold-antimony project in the West Susitna Minerals District about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
According to an S-K 1300-compliant calculation completed early this year, Estelle hosts 244 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 0.3 grams per metric ton (2.72 million ounces) gold, plus 231 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.3 g/t (2.45 million oz) gold.
This resource is divided into two project areas – the large bulk-tonnage Korbel area at the north end of the 198-square-mile (514 square kilometers) Estelle property and the higher-grade RPM area about 16 miles (25 kilometers) to the south.
A feasibility study currently underway will detail the economic and engineering parameters of establishing an initial mine at RPM that can be scaled up to a larger operation at Estelle.
The 2024 drilling at RPM primarily targeted a core zone where mining is envisioned to begin.
The adjacent North and South deposits at RPM host 4.4 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 2.5 g/t (330,000 oz) gold, plus 46 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.5 g/t (800,000 oz) gold.
The 21-hole drill program carried out by Nova this year focused on upgrading and expanding this resource, with a particular emphasis on a high-grade core zone envisioned to be the starter-pit area at RPM.
Prior to the most recent batch of assays, Nova had reported results from 15 holes drilled this year. Highlights include:
• 43 meters averaging 4.4 g/t gold from a depth of two meters in hole RPMRC-24005, including two meters averaging 39.2 g/t gold.
• 45 meters averaging 3.4 g/t gold from surface in hole RPMRC-24008, including eight meters averaging 10.5 g/t gold.
• 46 meters averaging 1.9 g/t gold from a depth of one meter in hole RPMRC-24009, including two meters averaging 14.4 g/t gold.
• 26 meters averaging 3.7 g/t gold from surface in hole RPMRC-24015, including five meters averaging 14 g/t gold.
• 39 meters averaging 5.4 g/t gold from surface in hole RPMRC-24016, including 12 meters averaging 15.3 g/t gold.
The final batch of assays includes similar high-grade gold intercepts with a broader zone of strong gold mineralization at RPM. Highlights include:
• 29 meters averaging 7.1 g/t gold from surface in hole RPMRC-24017, including two meters averaging 52.7 g/t gold.
• 66 meters averaging 2.1 g/t gold from surface in hole RPMRC-24019, including 25 meters averaging 3.4 g/t gold.
• 28 meters averaging 4.5 g/t gold from surface in hole RPMRC-24020, including six meters averaging 14.3 g/t gold.
• 34 meters averaging 3.9 g/t gold from surface in hole RPMRC-24021, including three meters averaging 8.3 g/t gold.
Nova says this year's drilling extended the high-grade core zone at RPM North to surface, and all the holes ended in mineralization, indicating the expansion potential.
The assays from the 2024 drilling are being included in an updated mineral resource that will serve as the basis of prefeasibility for what is expected to be a low-capital, high-return starter mine at RPM that can fund the expansion to a larger operation at Estelle.
"The 2024 drill results have confirmed a broad zone of high-grade mineralization starting at surface at RPM North," said Nova Minerals CEO Christopher Gerteisen. "This should prove positive for our upcoming studies focused on executing our current strategy to fast-track development of RPM as a scale-able low capex/high margin starter operation that we believe will generate the cash flow to facilitate future mine expansion plans and further unlock the larger Estelle project, which remains one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in the world, with significant upside remaining with gold, antimony, copper, silver, and other critical elements."
To further investigate the critical minerals potential at Estelle, Nova's geological team collected 500 soil and 225 rock samples during an extensive exploration and mapping program this year across the Estelle property.
A similar property-wide exploration program carried out in 2023 discovered high-grade antimony, copper, gold, and silver at multiple prospects. This includes Stibium, where one sample with 12.7 g/t gold, 2.1% antimony, and 1,600 g/t silver was collected.
Nova sees the potential of developing a pilot-scale mine at Stibium that could provide a near-term source of antimony, a critical metalloid that is a top concern for many U.S. Department of Defense officials due to its use in military hardware, coupled with China and Russia's current control over most of the world's supply.
DOD has expressed interest in such an operation and potentially a centralized antimony processing facility in Alaska.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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