Helicopters, pad-building crews, drillers, and geologists have mobilised onsite to begin preparations for Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA, OTC:NVAAF) 2025 field program at the Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska, with drilling activities expected to start in the coming weeks.
This year’s 15,000-metre drill campaign will focus on infill and expansion drilling at the RPM, Korbel and Stibium prospects at a time when gold and antimony prices are at near all-time highs.
The campaign will advance feasibility work at the RPM and Korbel gold deposits and establish a maiden mineral resource at the gold-antimony Stibium prospect. A regional surface sampling program and further metallurgical and permitting studies will run in parallel. Pending approval of its application for United States Department of Defense funding, Nova may expand the program to include additional drill rigs and initiate exploration at the Styx prospect.
Map of the Estelle project property showing the areas targeted for drilling in 2025.
“We are excited to commence the 2025 field season with a 15,000-metre drilling program aimed at unlocking further value across our Estelle Project,” Nova CEO, Christopher Gerteisen said.
“This campaign will focus on advancing the RPM and Korbel gold deposits toward feasibility and permitting, while also initiating a maiden resource at the Stibium prospect for both gold and antimony. With both metals trading near historic highs, the strategic significance and potential economic return of these near-surface assets underscore Nova’s strong growth trajectory and long-term value proposition.”
The program is set to run for at least three months over the Alaskan summer, capitalising on nearly 24 hours of daylight to support continuous, round-the-clock drilling on a rotational, seven-day schedule. Most of this year’s drilling will be assayed for gold, antimony, and a broader suite of multi-elements, with results to be progressively reported as laboratory assays are received.
Preparations underway for 2025 field season
Site mobilisation has begun, with the camp reopened, supplies flown in, and drill crews preparing the company-owned reverse circulation (RC) rig and two diamond rigs.
The RC rig has been upgraded for deeper drilling up to 100 metres. Up to 40 personnel will be housed at the Estelle camp to support 24-hour, seven-day drilling operations.
RPM will be the main focus with 10,000 metres of drilling planned. Work includes definition and expansion drilling at the main deposit, testing new targets to the north and west, and installing hydrology wells to support environmental studies.
Preparations for the 2025 field season are well underway.
The four main goals are:
1. Deposit definition and expansion at RPM
- Strike extensions will be tested to the east of the main RPM Deposit, beneath a heavily fractured zone intersected in hole RPM-004 (160 metres at 0.6 grams per tonne gold; ASX announcement 18 October 2021). This interval, hosted in hornfels, will be drilled toward the hornfels/intrusive contact, which hosts the bulk of the high-grade mineralisation. This contact was previously observed at depth in hole RPM-003 and lies along a fault zone believed to be a conduit for late-stage mineralisation.
- Drilling will also aim to upgrade measured and indicated resources at the core of the deposit and test intrusive dykes to the south.
- Expansion drilling will continue westward into the valley, targeting the hornfels/intrusive contact.
2. Exploration to the north
Reverse-circulation (RC) drilling will be carried out north of the RPM North Deposit to test geochemical anomalies identified along the ridge line.
3. Debris lobe drilling
Additional RC drilling is planned in the RPM glacial debris lobe area, where 2024 surface sampling returned rock samples up to 52.3 grams per tonne gold and till samples averaging 1.1 grams per tonne gold over a 1.7 kilometre strike length.
4. Environmental studies
Installation of hydrology wells will support surface and groundwater studies, contributing to environmental baseline data and informing ongoing feasibility and permitting efforts.
Stibium: targeting a maiden gold-antimony resource
The Stibium prospect will see 3,000 metres of drilling to define its initial mineral resource. Surface sampling has already identified a high-grade zone over 800 by 400 metres.
High impact results include:
- 12 rock samples > 30% Sb with a high of 60.5% Sb
- 10 soil samples > 0.1% Sb with a high of 2.8% Sb
- 16 rock samples > 5 g/t Au with a high of 141 g/t Au
- 35 soil samples > 1 g/t Au with a high of 25.6 g/t Au
Success in the Department of Defense funding application could accelerate work here.
Korbel: drilling for high-grade starter pit potential
A further 2,000 metres of drilling is planned at Korbel to evaluate a potential higher-grade starter pit at the Korbel Main deposit.
Additional high-priority targets across the broader Korbel Valley may be assessed subject to ongoing results.
Regional surface sampling to support future targets
Concurrent with drilling, a regional mapping and geochemical sampling program will focus on target development in key areas including Styx, West Wing, and Portage Pass–Tomahawk.
Sampling density will increase in areas showing elevated antimony and gold values.
Feasibility work supports future permitting
Nova continues to progress its feasibility studies, with ongoing metallurgical, environmental, and process engineering test work underpinning future development and permitting pathways.
For further information and 3D visualisations, stakeholders can access Nova’s presentations and animations via the company’s website: www.novaminerals.com.au.