Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA, FRA:QM3) is taking its US critical minerals ambitions to one of Alaska’s highest-profile energy and resources events this week, with chief executive officer Christopher Gerteisen set to present at the 2026 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference (ASEC) in Anchorage.
The May 19–21 conference brings together senior government officials, industry leaders and researchers focused on energy security, infrastructure and resource development across Alaska and the broader United States. Nova’s appearance comes as the company pushes ahead with plans to establish a domestic antimony supply chain centred around its Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska.
Speakers at the event include US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and officials from the US Department of Energy and Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
Nova said the conference would provide an opportunity to strengthen relationships with government and industry stakeholders as it advances Estelle towards production, with its presentation underscoring the company’s push to position the project as a strategic domestic supplier of antimony to the US market amid growing geopolitical concern around critical minerals supply chains.
US supply chain focus sharpens
At the conference, Nova will emphasise America’s reliance on foreign critical minerals imports, particularly from China and Russia, which currently dominate global antimony supply.
US Critical Minerals Net Import Reliance: USGS mineral commodity summaries report 2025 – selected minerals (Source: Nova Minerals, "Securing U.S. domestic antimony supply based in Alaska", Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference)
Antimony has become an increasingly important strategic material because of its applications across defence systems, semiconductors, batteries, solar panels and flame-retardant technologies.
Nova says Estelle could underpin what it describes as the first fully domestic US antimony supply chain in decades, reducing reliance on imports and helping address vulnerabilities tied to Chinese export controls and geopolitical tensions.
Nova is already backed by a US Department of War award worth US$43.4 million to help establish a domestic antimony supply chain, with production targeted for late 2026 or 2027.
The company said it was one of only two US projects to receive that level of Department of War support.
The Estelle Project: Highly Elevated Critical Minerals Concentrations (* Source ALS laboratory analysis ICP_MS61, Dataset includes 1844 rock and soil exploration samples across Estelle project area. ** Source USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023. W - Information with held to avoid disclosing company proprietary data.)
High-grade antimony targets emerging
The ASEC presentation also outlines the scale of Nova’s antimony exploration footprint at Estelle, where the company has identified seven antimony-gold prospects.
Particular attention has been placed on the Styx and Stibium prospects, where high-grade surface sampling has returned antimony values of up to 54.1% and 60.5% Sb respectively.
Estelle's Antimony Assets
At Stibium, Nova said surface work had outlined an 800-metre-long by 400-metre-wide antimony-rich zone that remains open, while drilling is already under way and access road construction is progressing.
The company is also evaluating a potential standalone antimony-gold starter mine at Stibium, which it believes could offer a relatively low-capex and quicker pathway to early production.
Downstream refinery plans advance
Beyond the mine itself, Nova is progressing plans for a downstream antimony refinery and critical minerals processing hub at Port MacKenzie in Alaska.
Port MacKenzie – CM Processing Hub
The company has secured 42.81 acres of permitted industrial land for the proposed refinery site, which would form part of a vertically integrated supply chain spanning mining, concentrate production and refined antimony products.
The proposed hub would leverage existing infrastructure including deep-water port access, rail connections and onsite power.
Nova’s broader Estelle project also hosts a large gold resource base across more than 20 prospects along a 35-kilometre mineralised trend in Alaska’s Tintina Gold Belt.
Vertically Integrated Antimony Project: Proposed fully secured and integrated US domestic antimony supply chain based in Alaska