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REGIONAL ROUNDUP NORTH AMERICA

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Nova has published a maiden 2.5 moz inferred ova has published a maiden 2.5 moz inferred
resource for its Estelle gold project in alaskaesource for its Estelle gold project in alaska
r
Nova’s triple threat

ova Minerals Ltd has promised inves- you can just kind of float over the snow.” “This is basically a cash flow-ready pro-
Ntors it’s “only just the beginning” after Nova is also planning to drill some untest- ject for us,” Gerteisen said.
unveiling a maiden 2.5 moz gold resource ed geophysical anomalies which appear to “One of their main objectives was to get
for its Estelle project in Alaska. be related to the area where the maiden re- the lithium concentrator/lithium flotation
The initial resource is based solely on the source has been defined at Estelle. Other plant back up and running. Manitoba has
Oxide Korbel deposit – one of 15 known known prospects to be tested include Shoe- a lot of pegmatites, but the problem is they
occurrences at Estelle – and Nova is wast- shine and Mt Estelle. have no ore. Enter the Thompson Brothers
ing no time preparing for up to 25,000m of Approvals have been obtained for Nova lithium project.
follow-up RC and diamond drilling. to continue drilling at the project for at least “We’re right next to the rail line that runs
Meanwhile, the company is preparing for the next three years. past our project and down to the old tanta-
cash flow to imminently roll through its doors Initial feasibility work is also expected lum mine. The idea there for us is dig it up
after striking a lucrative deal with a Chinese to be part of Nova’s short-to-medium term like a quarry, put it on the train and send it
group for ore from its Thompson Brothers plans, with the company optimistic of pub- down; no processing, nothing complicated
lithium project in Manitoba, Canada. lishing its first set of economics for Estelle like that, just very easy project cash flow.
Last month, Nova also added more than within the next 12-18 months. We think we can make $US8-10 million a
100sq km of prospective tenure to its land Gerteisen said the style of mineralisation year minimum.
holding around Estelle on Alaska’s Tintina at Oxide Korbel would lend itself to low-cost “They only have so much capacity down
gold belt, home to Kinross Gold Corp’s Fort mining and processing. there and we have enough ore to send
Knox mine and Victoria Gold Corp’s newly “We report our resources at quite a low them. So, we’re very favourably placed in
minted Dublin Gulch Eagles operation. cut-off grade because marginal grades Manitoba to get that project up and running
Speaking to Paydirt from his North here are definitely ore due to the low cost of and get some cash flow into the company.”
American base, Nova director Christopher production,” he said. In Australia, Nova plans to keep a watch-
Gerteisen said an initial 2.5 moz resource “The mineralisation basically starts at ing brief over the Officer Hill gold project
was nothing compared to the size of others surface, so it’s very low processing costs. where it has a 30% interest. Newmont
along the belt. It’s a heap leach operation, very low strip Goldcorp Tanami Pty Ltd holds the remain-
“This has been one of the hottest belts in ratio. You just go in there, you dig it up, put ing 70% and is the manager of the JV.
the world over recent decades in terms of it on the pile and let the gold leach out. No Officer Hill is 34km south-west of New-
discoveries and also production, with over complex crushing or milling, chemical/met- mont’s Callie deposit, part of its Tanami op-
200 moz discovered and several of those allurgical processes or anything like that.” erations in the Northern Territory.
deposits now in production,” he said. Nova is set to benefit from having the only “What we basically have is the same geo-
“It just goes to show the kind of neigh- defined lithium resource in Manitoba where logical elements that you get at the Callie
bourhood we have up here, 10-plus moz a Chinese consortium, under the guise of mine to the north, where there’s a 20 moz
deposits are not uncommon. Tanco Mining Corporation of Canada Ltd, deposit,” Gerteisen said.
“This is only just the beginning really. We has recently taken over the namesake “They told us when we started this JV
have a lot of work to do in the coming sea- mothballed concentrator and flotation plant. that if they weren’t very excited after the first
son, and when I say the coming season, A MoU was signed between Tanco and phase of drilling that they would probably
I’m not talking about shutting things down the Nova majority-owned Snow Flake Re- drop the project. Now they’ve done phase
and starting up again next summer. We’ll sources Ltd in August to identify a pathway two, results pending, and phase three has
be working through the winter months. We to production for Thompson Brothers (8mt already been planned to follow up on those
have our own track-mounted rig which pro- @ 1.4% lithium resource) via the Tanco results.”
vides easier access in some ways when concentrator, about 100km away.
– Michael Washbourne

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