Nova Minerals encounters visible gold at Estelle’s high-grade RPM deposit
Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) has encountered visible gold at the high-grade RPM deposit within its flagship Estelle project in Alaska’s prolific Tintina gold belt.
An occurrence of visible gold grading less than 1% disseminated in a quartz vein hosted within hornfels rock was observed at a depth of 68 metres.
Drilling is ongoing with the hole currently at 120m.
Encouraging development
Chief executive officer Christopher Gerteisen said it was an “encouraging” development as drilling was targeting the potential eastern extension of the RPM North bonanza zone with a total planned depth of 325m.
“This coarse visible gold observed is the most impressive specimen seen to date at RPM and it is very encouraging, as this hole is targeting the extension of mineralisation along strike to the east of RPM North,” he said.
“We are gaining a better understanding of the complex controls on mineralisation at these very high-grade RPM-type systems which exist across Estelle [in an effort] to further unlock the significant gold endowment within the project area.”
He said improved targeting of the zones as part of a current drilling program should continue to yield positive results.
RPM assays
On completion of drilling at RPM, the core will be processed on-site and sent to the ALS analytical laboratory for assaying with results expected in September.
In the meantime, exploration will continue across other areas of the deposit to further increase and prove up the high-grade resource.
Train maiden drilling
Nova is scheduled to commence a maiden 3000m drilling program at the Train prospect with the aim of confirming RPM-style high grade mineralisation and to establish another resource deposit at Estelle.
The program will focus on exploration and resource definition drilling to identify the mineralisation which has been observed at Train and Trumpet and in the 1.5 kilometre strike length linking the two targets.
Geological observations obtained from the area include gold hits of 80.2 grams per tonne, 30.4g/t, 24.5g/t, 21.6g/t and 17.9g/t at Train; 32.8g/t, 16.6g/t, 16.0g/t, 13.6g/t and 12.7g/t from Trumpet; and 30.4g/t and 21.6g/t from the strike link.
Mr Gerteisen said the intercepts provide the potential for “another very large exposed-at-surface intrusion-related gold system” approximately 7km north of RPM.