North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Nova Minerals Ltd. Nov. 15 announced that its 2023 surface sampling program has discovered strong antimony mineralization alongside the gold, silver, and other metals at the Train and Trumpet targets on the company's 198-square-mile (513 square kilometers) Estelle project about 100 miles northwest of Anchorage.

While Nova continues to primarily be focused on expanding the 9.9 million ounces of gold it has outlined so far at Estelle, the Australian company has identified strong antimony mineralization that could offer a significant byproduct to the precious metal.

In October, Nova reported that an extensive mapping and sampling program carried out at Estelle this year discovered two antimony prospects – Stibium and Styx.

Stibium, which lies on a new block of claims about six miles (10 kilometers) southeast of the 8.65-million-oz Korbel and Cathedral gold deposits, was discovered due to a color anomaly found there. A reconnaissance survey identified a two-meter-thick massive sulfide vein with elevated gold, stibnite (antimony mineral), and silver.

The best surface sample collected from Stibium contained 12.7 grams per metric ton gold, 2.1% antimony, and 1,600 g/t silver.

Styx was identified by a similar color anomaly in the southern portions of the Estelle property, about 5 miles (eight kilometers) northwest of the 1.24-million oz RPM gold deposits.

The two best samples collected from Styx contained 1.2 g/t gold and 19% antimony, and 0.9 g/t gold and 21.7% antimony.

"While Nova's primary focus continues to be on the gold, the discovery of high-grade stibnite, a primary ore source for antimony, associated with the gold system emerging at Estelle, represents a significant development for the company as antimony is listed as a critical and strategic mineral to US economic and national security interests by the U.S. Department of Interior," said Nova Minerals CEO Christopher Gerteisen.

Now, the company reports that it has identified stibnite associated with the gold, silver, and copper at its Train and Trumpet target areas roughly 4.5 miles (seven kilometers) north of RPM and about the same distance west of Styx.

Highlights from the 2023 surface sampling at Train and Trumpet include:

• 132.5 g/t gold, 1.2% copper, and 0.1% antimony (Trumpet).

• 80.2 g/t gold (Train).

• 58.8 g/t gold and 0.1% antimony (Train).

• 32.8 g/t gold, 1.2% copper, and 0.1% antimony (Trumpet).

• 28.1 g/t gold and 0.7% antimony (Train).

• 12.7 g/t gold, 779 g/t silver, 6.7% copper, and 0.1% antimony (Train).

• 7 g/t gold, 559 g/t silver, and 5.3% antimony (Train).

• 2.4 g/t gold, 500 g/t silver, 1.6% copper, and 2.5% antimony (Train).

• 0.7 g/t gold, 588 g/t silver, and 16.8% antimony (Train).

Gerteisen says the antimony has the potential to add significant value to the gold, silver, and copper previously identified at Train and Trumpet.

"A closer re-examination of the multi-element data from historical samples is also showing that the antimony association with the gold systems appears to be widespread across Estelle and of high-grade at several prospects where massive stibnite veining has been observed," he added.

Train and Trumpet, which lie about 1,500 meters apart, are targets where Nova sees the potential to establish a new resource center on the Estelle property.

Toward the goal of establishing a maiden resource at Train and Trump, the company launched its first drilling there this year. This initial drill test from a pad at Train, however, was limited by challenging weather and drilling conditions.

"Logistical challenges and time constraints only allowed a few short holes to be drilled at Train this year, but the exploration pathfinders have shown there is still exciting potential in the Train and Trumpet areas for further follow-up," said Nova Minerals Head of Exploration Hans Hoffman.

Nova Minerals Ltd.

During the 2023 summer field season, geologists collected 674 soil samples, 446 rock samples, and 21 stream sediment samples across the Estelle property. Click on image for the full map of Estelle and samples collected there this year.

Highlights from the four holes drilled at Train this year include:

• 1.4 meters averaging 2.3 g/t gold from a depth of seven meters in hole TRN-001.

• Three meters averaging 1.5 g/t gold from a depth of 38 meters in hole TRN-002.

• 1.4 meters averaging 3.3 g/t gold from a depth of seven meters in hole TRN-003.

"The drill results from this first pad at Train show evidence of a mineralized system, although admittedly this first pad was far from the heart of it," Hoffman said.

The Nova head of exploration said this year's sampling in the area discovered new zones of mineralization, including an intriguing outcrop between Train and Trumpet.

Gerteisen said Nova continues to consider the Train area "to be the highest priority exploration target to discover the next deposit after RPM and Korbel."

Author Bio

Shane Lasley, Publisher

Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.

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