Key Highlights

  • The Alaska Department of Natural Resources approved the Plan of Operations and Reclamation Plan about three months after submission.
  • The permits cover stibnite mining at Styx and Stibium, processing at Whiskey Bravo and refining at Port Mackenzie, for an initial three-year term.
  • Phase 1 is funded by an existing US$43.4 million award from the U.S. Department of War.
  • The flowsheet is designed to produce military-grade antimony trisulfide and standard grade II antimony metal at more than 99.65% Sb.

Nova Minerals Corp (ASX:NVA), which is also listed on the NYSE American, has received final approvals from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for the Plan of Operations and Reclamation Plan covering its Alaska antimony project. The approvals complete the project's permitting process, which took approximately three months from submission, and clear the way for construction and development activities targeting production in 2027. Phase 1 is funded by a US$43.4 million award from the U.S. Department of War, and the company announced the approvals on 28 October 2026.

Permits Cover the Full Mine-to-Refinery Chain

The final approvals authorise construction and operating activities over an initial three-year term and apply across the project's integrated development pathway. That pathway has three stages. The first is stibnite mining at the Styx and Stibium prospects. The second is intermediate-stage ore sorting and processing at the Whiskey Bravo concentration site within the Estelle Project. The third is downstream processing and refining at Port Mackenzie, Alaska.

The company describes the project as part of the establishment of the first modern, fully integrated U.S. domestic antimony supply chain in decades. Nova obtained all required permits within approximately three months of submitting the applications, which clears the way for Phase 1 of the Alaska antimony development. The approvals therefore follow the ore from the mine sites through concentration and into refining on Alaskan soil, with each stage now covered by the same regulatory sign-off from the state.

Funding, Engineering and Equipment

Phase 1 is supported by the existing US$43.4 million award from the U.S. Department of War, which is aimed at developing domestic production capacity for military-grade antimony trisulfide. The company states that Phase 1 is fully funded through that award.

Metallurgical test work and process plant engineering have been completed. The resulting flowsheet is designed to produce military-grade antimony trisulfide as well as standard grade II antimony metal at more than 99.65% Sb. All major long-lead and critical mining and processing equipment has been procured and delivered to project locations, which the company says allows construction to be accelerated.

With permitting, funding, engineering and equipment delivery each reported as complete, Nova describes its position as a transition from development planning to execution, with production targeted for 2027.

Management Commentary

Chief Executive Officer Christopher Gerteisen described the final permits as a milestone that moves the Alaska antimony project from development planning toward construction. He pointed to what the company has completed in what he called a relatively short period: securing the US$43.4 million in Department of War funding, finishing the permitting process, advancing engineering and metallurgical test work, and delivering critical equipment to project locations.

Mr Gerteisen said the focus is now on execution, and that the company believes the project could contribute to a more secure U.S. domestic antimony supply chain while creating a new growth opportunity for Nova and its shareholders.

The Estelle Project Setting

The antimony work sits alongside Nova's Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska. Estelle hosts two defined multi-million-ounce gold resources and more than 20 prospects spread along a 35-kilometre mineralised trend in the Tintina Gold Belt, a province with a documented gold endowment of more than 220 million ounces that includes Kinross Gold Corporation's Fort Knox Gold Mine. The company's critical minerals strategy is funded by the US$43.4 million Department of War award, with antimony production targeted for 2027.

Nova describes itself as advancing one of the world's largest undeveloped gold deposits into production while securing a U.S. domestic supply of antimony. Its shares trade on both the NYSE American and the ASX under the code NVA, and the company's corporate offices are in Greenwood Village, Colorado, and Caulfield, Victoria.