Nova Minerals Corp

Nova Minerals has completed the engineering and design phase for its antimony pilot processing plant at the Estelle project site in Alaska. The design covers the Whiskey Bravo front-end processing site and the Port MacKenzie beneficiation plant and refinery, with engineering aimed at meeting military-grade specifications for antimony trisulfide set by the US Department of War. Operations will use a cleaner hydrometallurgical method, and the modular plant design allows future expansion for antimony trioxide and metal production. Construction is expected to begin this quarter, with key equipment already procured, including over 40 containers of crushers, a ball mill, ore sorters, screens, flotation cells, and conveyors, many sourced from a decommissioned North American facility to speed the transition to construction. Bulk sample material will come from the Stibium and Styx locations within the Estelle claims, and the plant will process stibnite-bearing material into antimony trisulfide for sale or downstream use.

Nova Minerals Corp has appointed former JP Morgan metals and mining professional Joshua Girnun to its board, effective July 1, 2026, as the company advances its US-focused critical minerals strategy and the Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska. Girnun co-founded a client-facing risk underwriting team at JP Morgan covering metals and mining, energy, renewables, industrials, oil and gas, and agriculture, and helped develop the firm's internal risk standard for the natural resources sector. His appointment comes during what Nova describes as a pivotal execution phase following its redomiciliation from Australia to the United States, a move designed to better align its corporate structure with its predominantly US asset base and broaden access to American government and institutional capital. Nova is advancing the Estelle project, which it describes as one of the world's largest undeveloped gold deposits and a potential source of domestic US antimony supply, supported by a US$43.4 million award from the US Department of War under the Defense Production Act, with production of military-grade antimony trisulfide targeted for late 2026 or 2027. CEO Christopher Gerteisen said Girnun's experience in evaluating resource transactions at the institutional level would be useful as the company moves from development toward production, while Girnun called Estelle one of the most significant undeveloped gold and critical minerals assets in North America.

Nova Minerals Corp has completed its redomicile to the United States and launched its 2026 field season with exploration and development activities now underway. The company's common stock and listed warrants are now trading on the NYSE American under the tickers NVA and NVAWS, while Chess Depositary Interests trade on the ASX under NVA. Drilling has commenced at the Stibium antimony-gold prospect and at the RPM gold target, with up to four rigs focused on expanding gold and antimony resources. A nearly 2,000 line-mile ZTEM airborne geophysical survey has been completed across the entire claim block, identifying numerous reduced intrusion related gold systems to enhance exploration targeting. The company is advancing a Department of Defense-funded antimony project supported by US$43.4 million in funding, with ore extraction and process plant construction on schedule to begin this year, and has also increased its strategic investment in Amara Minerals through a A$500,000 placement.