Nova Minerals reports large intervals of near surface gold at RPM South prospect

Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) has reported that six of seven holes drilled at its RPM South prospect in Alaska have returned assays that confirm large areas of near surface gold.

RPM South is part of the company’s flagship Estelle gold project.

The overall grades from these holes are higher than those in the current RPM South average of 0.4 grams per tonne gold.

The company adds that a number of significant intercepts are greater than the 0.73g/t mill feed grade used in the scoping study.

‘High grade, fast payback’

Hold 39 returned, from 14 metres down hole, 147m at 0.5g/t, including three higher grade intervals — 30m at 1.3g/t, 7m at 2.1g/t and 1m at 7.7g/t gold.

Hole 42, starting just 2m from surface, intersected a very broad zone of 265m at 0.5g/t, including 23m at 1.1g/t 10m at 1.7g/t, and 6m at 1.9g/t gold.

Chief executive officer Christopher Gerteisen said these new infill and extensional drilling results from RPM South demonstrated successfully the continuity of mineralisation in the proposed RPM starter pit.

“The recently announced Estelle gold project scoping study identified RPM as a high grade, fast payback, production source in the early mine life,” he added.

Further assays pending

The 2023 drill program across the Estelle project has now been completed with other assays from the RPM North, RPM Valley and Train pending.

The results of those assays will determine the next steps to be taken at Estelle, the company says.

While the 2023 program was smaller than originally intended, Nova says it met the four main objectives even with fewer metres being drilled.

At both the RPM South and RPM North prospects it lifted the resource in the indicated category, while at RPM Valley it both improved confirmed mineralisation found earlier as well as moving the resource into the indicated category.

At Train, the maiden drilling followed up on the high-grade rock chip samples and geological observations.

Located on rich Alaska gold belt

Nova’s Estelle gold project contains multiple mining resources across a 35km long mineralised corridor with more than 20 identified gold prospects.

So far, the company has a defined 9.9 million ounces across four deposits.

The project is situated on the Estelle gold trend in Alaska’s Tintina gold belt which hosts a 220Moz documented gold endowment and some of the world’s largest gold mines and discoveries including Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine and Kinross Gold Corporation’s Fort Knox Gold Mine.