Nova Minerals' Estelle Project Gains Momentum with Alaska and Australia's Support

Nova Minerals' Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project is gaining strategic momentum with support from Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and the Australian Consular-General Tanya Bennett. The project's alignment with Alaska's infrastructure and economic development priorities positions it for streamlined permitting and potential infrastructure funding. Nova's CEO, Christopher Gerteisen, emphasized the project's importance in strengthening domestic resource security and its potential as a dual-commodity asset with near-term antimony production potential.

Nova Minerals Limited (NASDAQ: NVA) has made significant strides with its Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska, gaining strategic momentum with support from Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and the Australian Consular-General Tanya Bennett. The project's alignment with Alaska's infrastructure and economic development priorities positions it for streamlined permitting and potential infrastructure funding.

The company recently announced impressive results from its Styx antimony ore sorting test work program at the Estelle Project. The test work demonstrated a 2.3x upgrade in antimony recovery, achieving a grade of 35.2% Sb (49.1% Sb2S3) from a single pass, representing a significant metallurgical breakthrough [1].

The test work also showed beneficial gold rejection to the antimony ore sorting tail, with 52.5% gold recovery and grade improvement from 1.90 g/t Au to 2.99 g/t Au. This indicates strong potential for synergy between antimony and gold processing circuits [1].

Nova's CEO, Christopher Gerteisen, emphasized the project's importance in strengthening domestic resource security and its potential as a dual-commodity asset with near-term antimony production potential. The company aims to establish a U.S. domestic supply chain for antimony, addressing Western defense supply chain pressures [1].

The ore sorting test work results from Nova Minerals represent a significant metallurgical breakthrough for their Estelle Project. The 500kg bulk sample from the Styx prospect demonstrated exceptional upgrading capability, achieving a 2.3x concentration in a single pass through XRT sorting [1].

The ability to recover 60.3% of antimony in just 26.1% of the mass indicates excellent liberation characteristics and amenability to sensor-based sorting. This high-grade concentrate could command premium pricing in specialty markets while significantly reducing downstream processing costs [1].

The dual-commodity synergy is equally notable - the gold beneficiation to the tailings creates an elegant flowsheet where antimony and gold can be processed through separate optimized circuits. This effectively transforms what would normally be waste material into a valuable gold resource [1].

The conceptual flowsheet demonstrates a pragmatic approach with lower initial capital requirements. By implementing ore sorting at the mine site, Nova can minimize transportation costs by shipping only high-value concentrate while deferring full processing infrastructure. This staged development approach could accelerate time-to-revenue while the downstream processing facilities are developed [1].

From a strategic minerals perspective, establishing a domestic U.S. antimony supply chain addresses critical supply vulnerabilities, especially given China's export restrictions on strategic minerals. Antimony's applications in defense, electronics, and fire retardants make it strategically valuable, potentially positioning Nova for preferential treatment through defense industrial partnerships and grants [1].

References:
[1] https://www.stocktitan.net/news/NVA/nova-minerals-antimony-ore-sorting-results-show-significant-i4vskq9y2dvc.html