The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - January 13, 2025
Geologists collect samples for the Stibium antimony-gold target in Alaska.
High-grade antimony sample from Stibium.
Stibium sample with antimony and gold mineralization.
Nova Minerals Ltd. Jan. 13 announced that its 2024 surface exploration and sampling has refined targets for a resource definition drill program at the Stibium antimony-gold prospect on the company's Estelle project in the West Susitna Mineral District about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
"Defining a gold-antimony resource at Stibium and advancing towards antimony production is a top priority for the company, which is seeking U.S. government grant funding to aggressively pursue this opportunity," said Nova Minerals CEO Christopher Gerteisen.
In preparation for an antimony-focused exploration and development program potentially supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, Nova carried out detailed mapping and sampling at the Stibium prospect last year to follow up on the 2023 discovery sampling that returned grades as high as 60.5% antimony, 12.7 grams per metric ton gold, and 1,600 g/t silver.
In December, the company reported additional exceptionally high antimony and gold grades from 80 rock samples collected over a 400-by-800-meter area during the 2024 program at Stibium.
High-grade antimony sample from Stibium.
The antimony grades in these rock samples ran as high as:
• 56.7% antimony.
• 55.7% antimony.
• 54.8% antimony.
• 54.5% antimony.
• 46.2% antimony.
• 45.9% antimony.
Stibium sample with antimony and gold mineralization.
The rock samples also contained gold grades as high as:
• 141 g/t gold.
• 64.7 g/t gold.
• 62.3 g/t gold.
• 42.8 g/t gold.
• 34.8 g/t gold.
• 29.1 g/t gold.
Now, Nova reports that the 180 soil samples collected over the same 400-by-800-meter area at Stibium have helped to refine drill targets across the gold- and antimony-rich zone.
The company says 35 of the soil samples collected contained greater than 1 g/t gold, with a high of 25.6 g/t gold, and 10 of the samples topped 0.1% antimony, with a high of 2.8% antimony.
Based on the results of the sampling and mapping, Nova has outlined plans for a 15-hole drill program to establish an inaugural resource at Stibium.
"The main ridge at Stibium offers great access to the north and the south where we intend to drill the identified high-grade stibnite veins, gold-bearing quartz veins, and the mineralized hydrothermal breccia," said Nova Minerals Head of Exploration Hans Hoffman. "The ridge will provide for easy startup in 2025 requiring minimal drill pad construction and easier access to water due to its lower altitude than other Estelle prospects."
The high antimony grades at Stibium have drawn the interest of officials within the DOD looking to establish reliable supplies of antimony used for manufacturing ammunition, fireproofing compounds, batteries, specialty glass, and other products for both military and civilian use.
The urgency to establish a reliable supply of this metalloid critical to America's economy and security elevated significantly with China's December bans on exports of antimony, gallium, and germanium to the U.S.
There are no antimony-producing mines currently operating in the U.S., leaving American manufacturers and military reliant on imports.
China, which accounts for roughly half of global antimony production, has traditionally been the primary supplier of this critical metalloid to the U.S.
Considering antimony's importance to America's military readiness, the Pentagon began backing Perpetua Resources Corp.'s Stibnite gold-antimony project in Idaho with grant funding in 2022.
The DOD backing helped Perpetua get Stibnite across the federal permitting finish line, and the Idaho mine is expected to provide American manufacturers with roughly a third of their antimony needs when operations begin in 2028.
Due to its exceptionally high antimony grades, DOD officials see the potential for a small pilot-scale mining operation at Stibium that can rapidly deliver significant quantities of domestic antimony into U.S. supply chains.
Nova Minerals says the process for approving a grant from the DOD to support the exploration and development of Stibium is well advanced.
The company plans to focus this year's program at Estelle on Stibium and RPM, which hosts a gold deposit that the company has advanced to feasibility-level studies.
Earlier this month, Nova announced that it raised $6.7 million (A$10.9 million) through the sale of non-core assets and converted $5.4 million (A$8.8 million) of debt into company shares in order to strengthen its balance sheet to unlock the antimony and gold potential at Estelle.
"We are currently preparing and gearing up to commence 2025 field activities as soon as possible, which includes resource drilling programs at Stibium and RPM," said Gerteisen. "The Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project is in the right place, at the right time, with the right commodities."
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.
Reader Comments(0)