The Phase 2 Scoping Study, which was based on a mining scenario up-fronting the higher grade and excludes the Cathedral 2 Moz Au Inferred resource, confirmed the potential for a commercially robust mining operation at the
o Net Present Value (NPV5%) of
o Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 53% pre-tax
o 11 month payback period
o Undiscounted net free cashflow of
o Annual free cash flow after the payback period of ~
o All in Sustaining Costs (AISC) 1st year
o Pre-production capital of
o The entire project area is situated on
The study provides great exploration upside and a solid platform for growth and has identified clear opportunities for immediate improvement of metallurgical test works that would add to the bottom line.
Importantly, the study sensitivity analysis (Figure 1*) also highlighted how increasing the LOM average mill feed grade above the current 0.73 g/t Au, by even a small percentage, can have a significant impact on the project's NPV and other financial metrics - a 10% increase in grade to just 0.8% g/t Au increases the NPV by ~
While the company will obviously continue to seek out more very high-grade blow out zones like those encountered at RPM North, the study's sensitivity analysis has clearly shown that any significant strikes at even much lower grades (but above the current mill feed grade of 0.73 g/t Au) should have a positive impact on the project's economic metrics.
Helicopters, pad builders, and geologists are now all on site (Figures 2 and 3*) to commence the preparation work and pad building for the upcoming drill season, with an average of 3 drill rigs and 15,000m to focus on the RPM and Train areas.
Nova is pleased to have now employed the services of Mr
Most of the 2023 drill program will be focused on the RPM area (Figures 4 and 5*) with the aim to further infill and expand the at surface, higher grade (to exceed the current mill feed grade of 0.73 g/t Au) resources at RPM North and RPM South and the very high priority 600m continuous target area linking the 2 deposits, where the lower parts of holes RPM-037 (ASX Announcement:
The remainder of the 2023 drill program will target the Train area, (Figures 6 and 7*) where RPMstyle mineralization was discovered (ASX Announcement:
Surface exploration mapping and sampling programs will also be conducted as part of the 2023 field season. These will be primarily focused on the RPM and Train areas, as well as at the highly prospective 3km long polymetallic Au-Ag-Cu system at the Stoney prospect (Figure 8*).
Another successful winter road season has now been completed in preparation for the 2023 field season.
The company continues to support the proposed
Upcoming Milestones
- Commencement of drilling
- Material PFS test work results and trade-off studies as they become available
- Drilling and assay results at the RPM area
- Drilling and assay results at the Train area
- Updated global MRE following the assay results return (Improvements on mill feed grade being the focus)
- Results and potential new discoveries from the ongoing surface exploration mapping and sampling program
- Metallurgical test work ongoing
- Environmental test work ongoing
- Snow Lake Lithium MRE and PEA (SK-1300 IA)
- West Susitna access road updates
The scoping study sensitivity analysis (Figure 1*) has shown how sensitive the project is to improvements in the LOM mill feed grade above the current 0.73 g/t Au. Consequently, this year's drill program will focus on the southern area of the 450km2 site with a core focus to hone in on more material above this grade to potentially improve the economic metrics further in the PFS.
Nova CEO, Mr
This year our drill program and test work is aimed at honing in on walk up targets to rapidly increase the mill feed grade and optimize metallurgical studies further for higher recoveries as the study has shown that any improvements in these areas has the greatest positive impact to the bottom line.
We are confident that the combination of economic and technical strengths which come from having a large, bulk tonnage project in a Tier-1 location, will drive shareholder value as we continue to unlock the
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/BITF289X
About
Additionally, Nova has an indirect interest in the
Contact:
P: +61-3-9614-0600
F: +61-3-9614-0550
WWW: novaminerals.com.au
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