Nova Minerals unveils ‘spectacular’ wide zones of high-grade gold at RPM North

Nova Minerals’ (ASX: NVA) Estelle gold project in Alaska’s Tintina gold belt has even more promise after the company unveiled “spectacular” broad zones of high-grade gold at the new RPM North target.

The company has emerged from a trading halt with the drill results, which include a massive 400m intersection grading 3.5 grams per tonne gold.

Within this intersection were numerous higher-grade intervals including 287m at 4.8g/t gold, 132m at 10.1g/t gold, 86m at 14.1g/t gold, and 3m at 97.8g/t gold.

Nova chief executive officer Christopher Gerteisen described the assays as “company making results”.

“The tenor and continuity of these drilling intersections are most impressive indeed.”

“These broad zones of high-grade mineralisation, including bonanza hits throughout, confirm our geological interpretations, which identified RPM as a high-priority target.”

Mr Gerteisen added RPM was shaping up to be a very large high-grade gold system that remains “wide open”.

Developing maiden resource

Drilling at RPM North has been completed with assays pending from three holes and rigs mobilised back to the primary Korbel Main deposit to fast-track the infill and extensional program there.

Last month, initial assays from drilling at RPM North also showed broad gold zones had been hit.

Notable results from this batch were 128m at 1g/t gold, 42m at 1.5g/t gold, and 3m at 4.1g/t gold from one hole.

The first hole uncovered 37m at 1g/t gold, 6m at 4.2g/t gold and 3m at 7g/t gold.

Nova expects to release a maiden resource for RPM North by late 2021.

Unlocking Estelle gold district

Mr Gerteisen said RPM was now considered a significant part of the wider Estelle gold project’s development.

“We are now planning to have at least two rigs at RPM in the next round of drilling with a rig designated for what looks to be the much larger RPM gold zone, which we believe will converge with RPM North at depth.”

He said RPM will be a key component of the project’s ongoing resource development at Estelle.

“This is what unlocking a district looks like, and we will continue to do so with Korbel Mian and RPM representing only two of 15 known prospects within the wider Estelle gold project claims.”

He noted there were also “numerous unnamed” anomalies that remain untested across the 324 square kilometre project.

Reconnaissance teams have already had other successes with the recent Stoney discovery that represents a polymetallic gold-silver-copper system.

“We will continue to systematically advance these prospects and continue with our successful recon exploration programs in search of further discoveries as we move forward.”

Fast-track to production

While Nova progresses reconnaissance work for other discoveries, it remains focused on building confidence and growing the 4.7 million ounce Korbel Main gold resource.

“Remember, we are on the fast-track towards production – that is our goal,” Mr Gerteisen said.