Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, OTCQB:NVAAF) has boosted the global gold resource at its Estelle Gold Project in Alaska to a whopping 9.9 million ounces, building out the asset’s precious metals profile ahead of a pivotal phase two scoping study. Nova defined a robust starter pit area at the RPM deposit from surface, enhancing potential for a quick payback.
RPM starter pit
Resources increased across the board, but the RPM North deposit — widely considered the Jewel in Estelle’s crown — made headlines with its 340,000-ounce, 2.3 g/t gold resource, made even better by a 180,000-ounce, 4.1 g/t measured component from surface.
This equates to $700 million in easily accessible, low-strip ratio and generally cheaper to mine gold, which offers a much quicker payback. Nova plans to mine high-grade gold from the surface from the start of its operation — ore that is highly bankable and sought after.
On top of the spoils at RPM North, Nova declared a maiden 2-million-ounce gold resource at Estelle’s Cathedral deposit and established a 430,000-ounce profile at RPM South.
With more than a third of Estelle’s resource now housed in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories, Nova can finalise detailed mine planning for its phase two scoping study, expected later this quarter.
Breaking down Estelle’s global gold resource.
Unlocking Estelle’s potential
Nova CEO Christopher Gerteisen praised the team for putting in the gruntwork to realise Estelle’s golden potential in 2022.
“With full credit to our field crew and team, we are actively building a pipeline of deposits to continue to increase the life of mine, with more potential discoveries on the horizon,” he explained.
With 9.9 million ounces at hand, Nova’s revitalised gold resource equates to roughly 48 ounces for every 1,000 shares held.
“While the current mineral resource estimate (MRE) interpretation has taken a very conservative approach … the global MRE update nonetheless provides an improved platform for the upcoming phase 2 scoping study.”
Nova’s imminent report seeks to align Estelle’s economics, production metrics and mine life to its revitalised MRE, improving on the 1.9-million-ounce profile envisaged in last year’s phase one study.
“With long-term opportunity and the prospect of multiple mining complexes across the single project, we continue on our path to becoming a world-class, tier-1 global gold producer,” Gerteisen concluded.
Targeted exploration in 2023
Nova will roll out multiple diamond rigs this year, mandated to expand and prove up the 9.9-million-ounce resource following the phase two scoping study.
Top of the company’s to-do list is exploring 600 metres of prospective open strike between RPM North and South, two deposits with proven geological links.
High-priority drill targets within Estelle’s RPM Mining Complex.
Nova’s 2023 program will also target RPM-style mineralisation at the nearby Train prospect in the hopes of delivering a third gold resource.
While much of the aggressive exploration campaign will centre on RPM and surrounds, the gold stock will also take the drill bit to 3 kilometres of polymetallic outcrop at Estelle’s Stoney prospect.
On the development front
Front of mind for Nova is the phase two scoping study, which lays the roadmap for Estelle’s future development and is already well advanced.
The company also plans to conduct pre-feasibility test-work and trade-off studies where it can, paving the way for optimisation work down the line, with metallurgical and environmental test-work also on the cards.
In essence, the scope for major resource development across the Estelle Gold Project, with four mineral resource deposits already identified, has given Nova optionality to investigate the case for two standalone mining operations.
This could play out as northern and southern mining centres, leveraging respectively off the Korbel and RPM mining complexes.
Once the phase two scoping study is under its belt, Nova will investigate whether it can establish a standalone processing plant within RPM Mining Complex, with plans to commission another plant at Korbel down the track.
The company will keep the market updated on all this and more once it releases its phase two study, charting the course to monetise Estelle’s gold bounty.
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