Nova Minerals Limited (NVA:ASX), a gold, antimony, and critical minerals exploration and development company focused on advancing the Estelle Project, has announced that its 100% owned U.S. subsidiary, Alaska Range Resources, LLC (ARR), has been awarded US$43.4 million (A$65.5 million) in Defense Production Act Title III funding by the U.S. Department of War (DoW). The funding will support antimony trisulfide production at its Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project (Estelle Project) in Alaska. This project is 85% owned and is located 150 km northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, USA, in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt.
The award will enable ARR to accelerate the development of a fully integrated U.S. antimony supply chain. This includes extracting, concentrating, and refining stibnite to produce military-grade antimony trisulfide. The aim is to meet the demands of the U.S. defense industrial base and future supply to the U.S. industrial base for various applications, including semiconductors and energy systems.
Nova CEO, Christopher Gerteisen, stated that the company is proud to partner with the U.S. Department of War to secure a domestic supply chain for munitions and other defense products. He also highlighted the potential for supplying the U.S. industrial base with refined antimony products. The funding will support the initial phase of establishing a state-of-the-art antimony mining and refining hub in Alaska.
The company expressed its appreciation for the support from Alaska’s federal and state leaders. The Estelle Project is expected to play a central role in supplying critical materials, with Alaska at the heart of the country’s supply chain. Nova Minerals anticipates working closely with local partners from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) CORE-CM group, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR), the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and Alaska Tribes and Native Corporations to bring Estelle into production.
