Estelle Gold Camp Road Initiative Underway
Melbourne, April 20, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Nova Minerals Limited (
ASX:NVA) (QM3:FRA) (NVAAF:OTCMKTS) is pleased to announce that the Alaska Industrial Development Export Authority ("AIDEA") has approved a resolution authorising an agreement with Nova to advance the West Susitna Access Road as part of its Roads to Resources initiative. The road would open areas northwest of Anchorage and west of Wasilla, in the western parts of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough where mineral exploration is underway and would most notably link directly to the Estelle Gold District.
AIDEA is a public corporation of the State of Alaska providing development finance. Its mission is to promote, develop, and advance economic growth and diversification in the state by providing financing and investment. The authority has a long history of supporting Alaska's minerals industry, beginning with its financing and construction of the DeLong Mountain Transportation System, the road and port serving the area that includes the world's second largest zinc mine, the Red Dog Mine, as well as energy facilities and infrastructure for other mining projects in the state.
Under the initiative, Nova and AIDEA, together with Matanuska-Susitna Borough, will work collaboratively to investigate the viability of permitting and constructing an all-season industrial direct access road to the Company's Estelle Gold Project. The agreement identifies a range of initiatives that may be pursued, including investigating AIDEA-supported financing options for project infrastructure and other means to maximise local employment and other economic benefits. Although no specific terms have yet been discussed on payment for usage of the all-season industrial access road to the Estelle Gold District, previous arrangements that AIDEA entered into with, for example, Cominco Ltd. (now Teck Resources Ltd.) in 19861 for construction of the successful Red Dog Mine Road and Port Facility may serve as a general template for a final financing agreement. This initiative is non-exclusive, meaning that other mining and exploration companies or other industrial and commercial users may also work in cooperation with AIDEA to support development of the all-season access road to the Estelle Mining District.
Nova is prepared to commit $100,000 as a cost share to the next phase as engineering and environmental work proceeds and to assist in funding further works as required to unlock the vast district. The purpose of the initiative is to identify the rights, roles, and responsibilities of AIDEA, Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Company as they relate to the potential establishment of an all-season access road. The parties will continue to work together and in conjunction with other State of Alaska agencies, including the Alaska Department of Transportation, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, on the proposed industrial road access corridors that would serve the purpose of providing access for development of the mineral resources within Nova's Estelle Gold Project and the AIDEA's Board approved a resolution that authorises the authority to enter into a non-binding MOU with Nova for planning and engineering of the project, which is now called the West Susitna Access Road.
Nova CEO, Mr. Christopher Gerteisen said: "First and foremost, being Alaskan born and bred, I am extremely excited about this initiative for my people and state. The economic and social benefits will be tremendous for the state of Alaska. The approval from AIDEA marks the first step towards the construction of an industrial road to the 2.5Moz Estelle Gold Camp and in unlocking the Estelle Gold district at a time of the company commencing its drilling program to significantly increase the resource. It also demonstrates the State of Alaska's commitment to responsibly develop its abundant natural resources. AIDEA has successfully pursued on numerous occasions its mandate to promote, develop and advance economic activity in Alaska through strategic partnerships with the mining industry. We are very pleased to enter into this initiative that formalises how we will collaborate with AIDEA and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough within a consortium of other groups to realize the economic potential that the Estelle Gold and surrounds provides for all Alaskans.
In addition to its financing capabilities, AIDEA brings invaluable experience as an organisation that has partnered with mine developers, and permitted and constructed industrial facilities in Alaska. Nova remains fully committed to the Estelle Gold Project and we have every confidence that, over time with further exploration, discovery and development of mines and in partnership with local communities and public institutions, it will become significant contributor to the economy of Alaska.
Nova has established a 2.5Moz inferred gold resource on a small area at Korbel, one of 15 known targets within the Estelle Gold Project. The Korbel deposit remains in all directions and drilling is underway to expand and increase confidence in the resource. To date exploration efforts have produced results at an extremely low cost per discovered ounce and we intend to maintain this record by continually opening up new targets within the Korbel prospect and the broader Estelle Gold District. Furthermore, we have a clear objective across the Korbel project alone to push Block B "Starter Pit" towards a feasibility study in 2021 (ASX announcement: 02 September 2019 and 9 December, 2019) on the path to production."
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About Nova Minerals Limited
Nova Minerals Limited (ASX:NVA) (FRA:QM3) is a Gold, Antimony and Critical Minerals exploration and development company focused on advancing the Estelle Project, comprised of 514 km2 of State of Alaska mining claims, which contains multiple mining complexes across a 35 km long mineralized corridor of over 20 advanced Gold and Antimony prospects, including two already defined multi-million ounce resources, and several drill ready Antimony prospects with massive outcropping stibnite vein systems observed at surface. The 85% owned project is located 150 km northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, USA, in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt, a province which hosts a >220 million ounce (Moz) documented gold endowment and some of the world's largest gold mines and discoveries including, Barrick's Donlin Creek Gold Project and Kinross Gold Corporation's Fort Knox Gold Mine. The belt also hosts significant Antimony deposits and was a historical North American Antimony producer.
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