Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, OTCQB:NVAAF) says that the definition of a number of targets at the high-grade RPM Gold Project in Alaska will assist it to prove up and increase its current inferred resource.
The initial scoping study outlines a starter operation that provides a solid platform for growth and identifies clear opportunities for improvements, which the company now intends to aggressively pursue.
The company has planned an extensive drilling program for 2022, designed to delineate additional high-grade indicated resources to include in the production schedule for the Korbel Central Processing Facility. Subject to weather, it is anticipated that drill rigs will be onsite at the RPM Project in April.
The RPM high-grade resource provides an opportunity to deliver a higher average mill feed grade to substantially increase and improve the gold production profile over the life of the project.
RPM resource drilling program for 2022.
As part of Phase 1, two rigs are drilling for 5,000 metres at the RPM North deposit to infill around a drill hole that has returned bonanza past assay results of 132 metres at 10.1 g/t gold and an overall average grade of 3.5 g/t gold over 400 metres from surface within the RPM North mineralised zone.
For Phase 2, three rigs are conducting step-out drilling for 15,000 metres at the RPM North deposit to increase the current resource, which remains wide open along strike, depth, and thickness.
Initial drilling will also test the highly prospective RPM South zone which shows a much larger surface footprint from rock chip sampling and geological observations.
Korbel Central Processing Facility
The Korbel Central Processing Facility, as designed in the scoping study, will provide the flexibility to schedule feed from numerous ore sources that are expected to come online over the life of the project.
Nova Minerals is prioritising the inclusion of high-grade RPM resources to feed the centralised 6-million-tonnes-per annum mill, in order to take advantage of the high sensitivity to grade (see chart below) and to improve the overall project economics. Each 10% increase in grade alone potentially adds US$200 million to the NPV.
The gold production rate and project mine life have the potential to grow significantly with continued resource definition and expansion, as demonstrated in recent announcements at the Korbel and RPM projects.
The company’s ongoing exploration activities across the wider Estelle Gold Trend are planned with a clear intent to prove up the high grade – 1.5 million ounces at 2.0 g/t gold – resource at the RPM North deposit for an indicated resource estimate, as well as further expanding the resource at Korbel.
Sensitivity analysis
Major milestone
CEO Christopher Gerteisen said: “The company reached a major milestone in the recent announcement of its maiden scoping study.
“While constrained by the amount of indicated resources available from a single ore source within a starter pit at Korbel Main, we were very pleased to report strong and positive results that show the flowsheet we have developed works better than expected and can support a viable project with exceptional flexibility to maximise opportunities from multiple ore sources that will ultimately come online as we continue to develop the Estelle Gold Trend.
“To clear up the capex component, Korbel Main is a key to the rapid development of the Estelle Gold Trend and has now demonstrated itself as a viable standalone project expected to contribute a significant portion of future gold production utilising a centralised processing infrastructure which is scaled for the greater project to receive feed from multiple ore sources from across the entire Estelle Gold Trend as the years progress.
Ore feed from RPM deposits
“While this ore feed will initially mainly come from the Korbel and the high-grade RPM deposits, where we have existing resources that will come online sooner in the production profile as studies are completed, later it is anticipated that ore feed will also come from the Train, Shoeshine and Stoney prospects, as well as from additional discoveries that we expect to be made in the future.
“One must understand the big picture and potential that Nova is developing a gold trend which is endowed with numerous deposits that will eventually be sources of ore to feed into the Korbel Central Processing Facility as designed in the scoping study.
“As we move forward, it is expected that minimal extra capital expenditure will be required, mainly going towards material haulage infrastructure to bring in ore from sources across the project area to the centralised Korbel Plant site.”
RPM to Korbel Central Process Facility conceptual outline of material haulage.