Nova Minerals Progresses to Antimony Processing Plant Construction as 2026 Estelle Field Season Concludes
First antimony is expected in 2027, while plant construction remains dependent on receipt of the remaining permits.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
Nova Minerals (NVA) received all key equipment for its planned Alaska antimony processing and refinery facility on October 6, 2026. Early earthworks are underway at Port MacKenzie, with plant construction expected to begin in the coming weeks, subject to remaining permits. The project is supported by a $43.4 million U.S. Department of War award, and the company expects first antimony in 2027.
Nova completed its approximately 8,000m Estelle drilling program, including work supporting the RPM pre-feasibility study, which assesses potential mine development. Samples have been shipped for analysis. Access-road and airstrip construction continues, alongside preparation of an onsite crushing and ore-sorting facility. At Styx, Nova extracted 100 tons of antimony ore for initial feed after plant construction is completed.
How this balance works
Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.
It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.
Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.
Hollow bars mark forward-looking points. How the balance works
Positive
- Moderate pointAntimony supply-chain development is supported by a $43.4 million U.S. Department of War award. 1.7% of market cap
- Minor pointAntimony plant equipment delivery is complete, enabling the next construction stage.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.First antimony production is expected in 2027.
- Minor pointPort MacKenzie early earthworks are underway.
- Minor pointEstelle's approximately 8,000m drilling program is complete, including RPM work supporting the pre-feasibility study.
7 minor points
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Styx supplied 100 tons of antimony ore for initial processing after plant construction is completed.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Korbel-Stibium road construction advances toward year-round overland access; Nova expects reduced helicopter reliance and costs.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Whiskey Bravo airstrip expansion continues; Nova expects freight cost savings and increased payload capacity.
- Minor pointWhiskey Bravo crushing and ore-sorting facility steel fabrication and site preparation are ongoing.
- Minor pointRPM road alignment is established, with initial environmental baseline studies completed ahead of a permitting application.
- Minor pointKorbel metallurgical test work, environmental and technical studies continued during the field season.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Equipment sourced from a recently decommissioned North American site is intended to accelerate construction and reduce costs.
Negative
- Minor pointAntimony plant construction remains subject to receipt of remaining permits.
News Explained
The Whiskey Bravo airstrip expansion remains under construction and is aimed at accommodating C-130 aircraft, with the company stating the expansion will increase freight size and payload capacity.
Key Figures
- U.S. Department of War award
- $43.4 million
- Supports the domestic antimony supply chain project
- Initial antimony production
- 2027
- Expected first antimony from the Port MacKenzie facility
- Estelle drilling program
- ~8,000m
- Completed during the 2026 field season
- Airstrip payload capacity
- 7,000lbs to 42,000lbs
- Current DC-3 capacity to planned C-130 capacity
- Antimony ore extracted
- 100 tons
- Initial feed material for downstream processing after construction
Historical Context
-
Reported arrival of about 500 tons of processing and refining equipment at Port MacKenzie.
-
Reported about 44 containers of processing equipment delivered to Port MacKenzie.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
diamond drilling technical
pre-feasibility study technical
stibnite technical
assay technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nova Minerals Corp (“Nova Minerals” or the “Company”) (NYSE American: NVA | ASX: NVA) is pleased to report all key plant equipment for its planned antimony processing and refinery operation arrived at Port MacKenzie, Alaska, on October 6, 2026.
The arrival of the final major pieces of equipment enables construction of the processing and refinery facility to begin in the coming weeks, subject to receipt of the remaining permits.
This represents another significant milestone in the Company’s plan to establish a secure, vertically integrated U.S. domestic antimony supply chain in Alaska, supported by a
The key equipment shipment arrives as the 2026 field season at the Estelle Critical Minerals and Gold Project draws to a close, with initial assay results expected in due course.
In parallel, construction continues to advance across key infrastructure projects at Estelle, including the Korbel Stibium access road and airstrip expansion.
Highlights
- Additional Key Antimony Plant Equipment Delivered: All remaining antimony processing and refinery equipment has arrived on site. The delivery included two ball mills, a jaw crusher, apron feeder, hydraulic filter presses, and other ancillary equipment required for the antimony recovery process (Figure 1). This follows a 500-ton shipment of processing and refining equipment that arrived at Port Mackenzie on September 6.
- Antimony Plant Construction to Commence: Early earthworks are underway at Port MacKenzie (Figure 2), with construction of the antimony processing and refinery facility to commence, following receipt of final permits.
- 2026 Field Program Completed: An extensive ~8,000m diamond drilling program at Estelle, which focused on infill and resource expansion at the RPM gold deposit to advance the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), is now complete. The Stibium and Styx antimony prospects are progressing towards potential resource delineation and production. Samples and drill core from the 2026 field program have been prepared and shipped for analysis, and the Company expects to report results in due course.
- Estelle Site Infrastructure Construction Continues: The Korbel-Stibium access road (Figure 3) and Whiskey Bravo airstrip expansion (Figure 4) continue to make important progress.
Nova CEO, Mr. Christopher Gerteisen, commented:
“This equipment delivery brings Nova Minerals a step closer to establishing a secure, vertically integrated antimony supply chain for the United States domestic market.
“The U.S Department of War has designated antimony as a strategic priority for national and economic security, due to its necessity in defense, energy storage, and advanced electronic applications.
“While our 2026 field season, supported by three diamond rigs operating from June through September, has now concluded, activity at both Estelle and Port MacKenzie is continuing at pace. Favorable fall conditions provide an ideal window for earthworks and construction, with these activities set to continue through the winter months.”
Port MacKenzie Antimony Processing and Refinery Facility
The remaining shipment of key ore processing and refining equipment included another 10 truckloads, and follows more than 40 containers that arrived by barge at Port MacKenzie on September 6.
Nova sourced modern processing and milling equipment from a recently decommissioned site in North America to accelerate construction and deliver meaningful cost savings, with first antimony expected in 2027.
Early earthworks are underway (Figure 2), with construction of the antimony processing facility, which is designed to process stibnite-bearing material and, initially, produce antimony metal and military grade trisulfide as part of the U.S. DoW project, to commence following receipt of final permits.
A modular design provides Nova with the flexibility to scale operations over time, and respond to evolving market requirements including building an integrated domestic antimony supply chain within the United States.
Estelle Site Infrastructure Construction
- Korbel-Stibium Access Road: Construction of the Korbel-Stibium access road is progressing at pace, with the project set to provide year-round overland access to the northern prospects, including the Stibium antimony-gold prospect and the Korbel gold deposit, while delivering significant cost savings by reducing reliance on helicopter support (Figure 3).
- Whiskey Bravo Airstrip Expansion: Construction of the Whiskey Bravo airstrip expansion and apron continues, with the aim to upgrade specification to suit C-130 Hercules size aircraft (Figure 4). Along with significant freight cost savings, the expansion will allow increased freight size and payload capacity from the current 7,000lbs (DC-3) to 42,000lbs (C-130).
- RPM Road Alignment: The proposed RPM road alignment has been established with initial environmental baseline studies now completed in preparation for permitting application.
- Onsite Crushing and Ore Sorting Facility: Steel fabrication and site preparation is ongoing at the Whiskey Bravo crushing and ore sorting facility at the Estelle camp. The facility will play a key role in producing a coarse intermediate concentrate for transport to the Port MacKenzie downstream processing and refining plant, where antimony metal and military grade trisulfide will be produced under the
$43.4 million DoW award.
2026 Estelle Field Season Completed
In parallel to establishing the Port MacKenzie refinery, Nova’s 2026 field season at Estelle has concluded. Nova completed ~8,000m of drilling, with three diamond core rigs operating around the clock, seven days a week, between June and September to leverage the longer daylight hours over the Alaskan summer.
- RPM: Several drill pads were established at RPM to focus on infill and expansion drilling, with approximately 4,200m completed at the deposit with the objective of further delineating the eastern strike extension at RPM North and increasing resource confidence at RPM Valley.
Drilling at RPM also included approximately 1,500m of near-deposit expansion targets along the ridgeline north of RPM North where previous surface sampling and geophysics identified potential for additional high-grade, RPM-style gold mineralization.
Outside of drilling, detailed geologic mapping was undertaken at RPM, as well as surface reconnaissance work between RPM and the Revelation prospect where previous surface sampling returned rock chip assays up to 24.6 grams per tonne gold.
Drill samples have been logged, prepared, and shipped to the ALS laboratory for analysis. - Korbel: Throughout the 2026 field season, PFS metallurgical test work, environmental and other technical studies continued at the Korbel deposit.
Korbel will comprise a significant portion of the ore volume in any future mining scenario at Estelle. - Stibium: At the Stibium antimony-gold prospect, Nova completed approximately 800m of targeted drilling across gold and stibnite (antimony) anomalies identified in surface sampling, with drilling occurring from a newly-established pad on the south face of the prospect, lower down on the slope and 200m closer to the target zone.
- Portage Pass: A detailed soils grid was conducted across the Portage Pass valley area with assays anticipated in the coming months.
- Stoney: One 415m drill hole was drilled at the end of the season targeting the Massive Au-Ag-Cu-Sb bearing Stoney Vein.
- West Wing: Detailed mapping and sampling were completed at West Wing, with samples sent to ALS and assays expected in the coming months.
- Train: Two holes were drilled at Train for approximately 475m, targeting a sheeted vein set with high-grade surface samples returning up to 128 g/t Au.
- Styx: During the field season, Nova drilled approximately 500m over two holes from the newly constructed drill pad on the eastern side of Styx to test the 1m-thick quartz-stibnite vein at the prospect.
In parallel, the Company extracted 100 tons of antimony ore to provide initial feed material for downstream processing and refining at the Port MacKenzie plant once construction has been completed.
Figure 1. Ball mill delivered to Alaska
Figure 2. Port MacKenzie antimony processing plant site early earthworks
Figure 3. Korbel-Stibium access road construction works
Figure 4. Whiskey Bravo airstrip expansion construction works
About Nova Minerals Corp
Nova Minerals Corp is advancing one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold deposits into production and securing a US domestic supply of the critical mineral antimony. The Company is focused on the exploration and development of the Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project, located in Alaska, a tier-one mining jurisdiction.
Estelle hosts two defined multi-million-ounce gold resources, and more than 20 prospects distributed along a 35-kilometre mineralized trend, 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 Kinross Gold Corporation’s Fort Knox Gold Mine. In parallel, Nova is advancing its critical minerals strategy, fully-funded by a
Further discussion and analysis of the Estelle Project is available through the interactive Vrify 3D animations, presentations, and videos, all available on the Company’s website www.novamineralscorp.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “aim,” “should,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are based on Nova Minerals Corp’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and Nova Minerals Corp undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.
For further information:
| Nova Minerals: | Media: | Investor Relations: |
| Craig Bentley | Jenna Shinderman | Dave Gentry, CEO |
| Director | Sodali & Co | RedChip Companies, Inc. |
| Ph: 1-720-550-4223 | Ph: 1-631-918-4047 | Ph: 1-407-644-4256 |
| E: craig@novamineralscorp.com | E: jenna.shinderman@sodali.com | E: NVA@redchip.com |
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
When does Nova Minerals expect its Alaska antimony plant to start producing?
Nova expects first antimony in 2027. Early earthworks are underway at Port MacKenzie, but construction of the processing and refinery facility remains subject to receipt of the remaining permits.
How much drilling did Nova Minerals complete in the 2026 Estelle field season?
Nova completed approximately 8,000m of diamond drilling during the 2026 Estelle field season. The program included infill and resource-expansion work at RPM to advance the pre-feasibility study. Samples and drill core have been prepared and shipped for analysis, with results expected in due course.
What will Nova Minerals initially produce at the Port MacKenzie antimony plant?
The facility is designed initially to produce antimony metal and military grade trisulfide from stibnite-bearing material as part of the U.S. Department of War project. Its modular design provides flexibility to scale operations over time.
How much will Nova Minerals' Whiskey Bravo airstrip expansion increase freight payload capacity?
The expansion is intended to increase freight payload capacity from 7,000lbs with DC-3 aircraft to 42,000lbs with C-130 aircraft. Construction of the airstrip expansion and apron continues, with the aim of upgrading the specification to accommodate C-130 Hercules-size aircraft.