Minerals explorer and developer Nova Minerals Limited (ASX: NVA, FSE: QM3) has announced a significant 86% strategic increase in the land position of its Estelle Gold Project, Alaska.
The company reported that an additional 101.65 km2 tenement was secured adjoining the current Estelle Gold Project area in Tintina Gold Belt.
NVA had established 2.5Moz maiden inferred gold resource on a very small area of total district-scale landholding.
The company reported that the new tenements contain highly prospective geology and will be explored in conjunction with ongoing exploration and resource development at the Project.
Estelle Gold project
The Estelle Copper Gold project is located approximately 110 miles northwest of Anchorage and approximately 112 miles southeast of McGrath; within the Seward Meridian and partially within the Talkeetna A-6, Tyonek D8, and Lime Hills D-1 USGS 63,360 Quadrangles.
The Estelle Gold project is comprised of 173 unpatented mining claims located on State of Alaska public lands.
There are multiple prospects within the project area; Oxide (Oxide Ridge, Oxide Valley, Oxide North, and Oxide South); Stoney (Stoney, Tomahawk, Kid, and Trundle); Mount Estelle (Mount Estelle, Shoeshine and Train); and Emerald (RPM and Revelation).
Previous explorations
Nova said that the majority of the previous exploration within the Estelle Project area was focused at the Oxide Korbel, RPM, and the Shoeshine prospects.
The company had announced a maiden inferred gold resource estimate of 2.5 million ounces for the Oxide Korbel prospect.
86% increase in land holdings
The company announced that it secured an additional 101.65 km2 tenement adjoining the current Estelle Gold Project area in Tintina Gold Belt, Alaska.
Nova’s total landholding in the region has now increased to 220km2 of high-quality prospective gold ground. Nova said that this major increase in landholding remains relatively unexplored.
The company noted that highly prospective mineralization controlling structures and rock types, known to host the numerous other prospects and gold occurrences throughout the Project, show strong continuity into the increased landholding areas.
NVA said that this scenario adds significantly to the number of high priority targets the company plans to focus on in its upcoming work programs.
The Company reported that it has commenced target generation activities, and will provide updates as new priority drill targets are confirmed.
Next steps
NVA reported that after successfully confirming its maiden resource at the Estelle Project, the Company plans to fast track exploration at the Project, to progressively upgrade and expand the resource base.
The Company said that its funds will be invested in a series of ongoing exploration campaigns – including targeting, mapping, geophysics and drilling programs – across the district-scale Estelle Project.
Nova announced that the immediate priorities will include a resource upgrade at Oxide Korbel Block A and B, a resource expansion to include Oxide Korbel Block C and D, and a project-wide resource statement to build on the maiden 2.5Moz inferred gold resource.
The company said that it seeks to fast track preliminary economic assessment (PEA) studies on the Oxide Korbel resource area.
Management comments
NVA Managing Director Avi Kimelman said: “The Company’s maiden 2.5Moz inferred gold resource, confirmed at Blocks A and B which remains open at length and depth within the Oxide Korbel prospect last month, represents less than 1% of the Project area.
Blocks C and D at Oxide Korbel host larger and stronger chargeability anomalies, and will be subject of targeted drilling together with Blocks A and B in our next phase of fieldwork – and have the potential to significantly expand the Project’s resource.
In addition, the expansion of the Estelle project area reinforces Nova’s commitment to expand our resource ounces and fast track development across the Project area. This will allow us to enact much broader exploration and a discovery vision via the exploration of what we believe to be a regionally significant land package in the world-class Tintina Gold Belt.
We plan to fast tracking drilling with results and resource upgrades to shadow our critical path to meet these objectives across a number of prospects.
The 107Moz Au Pebble Project to the south and the 45Moz Au Donlin Creek Project to the west, provide just two examples of the large-scale gold endowment in the region, and highlights the potential upside for Nova at the Estelle Project.”
