Novo Resources (ASX:NVO) Clears Approvals for 2,700m Clone Drilling and Locks in 70% of Tibooburra Joint Venture

Sonal Goyal

28 October 2026 01:11 PM AEDT

Novo Resources (ASX:NVO) Clears Approvals for 2,700m Clone Drilling and Locks in 70% of Tibooburra Joint Venture

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Key Highlights

Novo holds all regulatory and landholder approvals for an 18-hole, roughly 2,700m reverse circulation program at the Clone prospect.
The program will step out about 100m north of existing drilling to test a high-grade shoot defined over about 300m of strike and 90m of vertical depth.
Novo met the A$1.5 million minimum expenditure and elected to form a 70/30 joint venture with Awati Resources over six exploration licences.
Earlier Clone results include 12m at 5.90 g/t Au from 16m, with 5m at 13.74 g/t Au from 23m, in TBR0001.

Novo Resources Corp. (ASX:NVO) (TSX:NVO) has received the regulatory and landholder approvals needed to start a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Clone prospect in the Tibooburra Gold Project, New South Wales, and has elected to form a 70/30 unincorporated joint venture with a subsidiary of Manhattan Gold Corporation Ltd. Drilling of about 2,700 metres is expected to begin in November 2026, targeting a northern extension of high-grade gold mineralisation intersected in earlier campaigns.

Approvals and the Clone Drilling Program

Novo received approval from NSW Parks and Wildlife in October 2026 to extend drilling at Clone, and a Heritage Clearance Survey with representatives of the Tibooburra Local Aboriginal Land Council was completed on 8 July 2026, the final step for heritage approval. The program, first outlined on 30 July 2026, comprises 18 holes for approximately 2,700m and is scheduled to start between early and mid-November 2026.

The main objective is the down-plunge extension of a shallow, north-plunging shoot of high-grade gold that dips at 10 to 20 degrees. Drilling to date outlines the shoot over about 300m of strike and to a vertical depth of 90m, and it remains open and untested down plunge. A step-out traverse about 100m north of existing holes is planned, with the long section showing drill lines at 100m and 200m to the north. Selected holes on existing lines will follow up open intersections and test for parallel, stacked lodes.

Clone Geology and Earlier Intercepts

Clone is marked by significant historic workings and a coherent gold-in-soil anomaly above 30 ppb that is about 600m long and up to 250m wide. Mapping defines a west-dipping reverse fault, the Clone Thrust, associated with the high-grade gold, and most historic workings and sericite-carbonate alteration lie close to or within that shear zone. The turbidite sequence is tightly to isoclinally folded, and the intersection of regional foliation with the main structures produces a shallow north plunge matching the shoot defined by drilling.

Results from the 2023 Manhattan and 2025 Novo programs include 12m at 5.90 g/t Au from 16m, with 5m at 13.74 g/t Au from 23m, in TBR0001, and 17m at 2.40 g/t Au from 59m in TBR0014, which contains 9m at 4.14 g/t Au. CL0007 returned 6m at 8.39 g/t Au from 82m, CL0010 returned 9m at 6.03 g/t Au from 16m, and CL0004 returned 6m at 4.22 g/t Au from 66m. CL0002 recorded 29m at 1.37 g/t Au from 61m.

Joint Venture With Manhattan Gold and Regional Work

Under the Joint Venture and Option Agreement with Awati Resources Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Manhattan Gold, Novo had to spend A$1.5 million on exploration to earn the right to form a joint venture over six exploration licences in the Albert Goldfields. In October 2026 it told Awati and Manhattan that the requirement had been met, and it elected to establish the Tibooburra Joint Venture, in which Novo holds 70% and Awati 30%. Novo will manage the venture and solely fund Awati's share of exploration costs until a bankable feasibility study is complete.

Separately, regional stream sediment sampling, targeted mapping and gridded soil sampling began in September 2026, with a follow-up program scheduled for October. The work covers the 30km-long Albert Goldfield and aims to define new gold-anomalous zones in recessive areas and prioritise targets for possible exploration drilling in 2027. Results are pending. Two newly granted tenements, EL9867 and EL9900, are 100% owned by Novo.

Where Tibooburra Stands

Novo now holds the permissions for its 18-hole Clone program, has secured a 70% interest in the six-licence joint venture with Awati, and is awaiting regional sampling results from work begun in September.

FAQs

Q: How large is the planned Clone drilling program?

A: It is 18 RC holes for about 2,700m, including a step-out traverse about 100m north of existing drilling. Drilling is scheduled to begin in early to mid-November 2026.

Q: What are the terms of the Tibooburra Joint Venture?

A: Novo holds 70% and Awati Resources holds 30% of six exploration licences in the Albert Goldfields. Novo manages the venture and funds Awati's share of exploration costs until a bankable feasibility study is complete.

Q: What is the best earlier result at Clone?

A: TBR0001 returned 12m at 5.90 g/t Au from 16m, including 5m at 13.74 g/t Au from 23m. CL0007 returned 6m at 8.39 g/t Au from 82m.

Q: How much did Novo have to spend to earn the joint venture?

A: Novo had to incur A$1.5 million in exploration expenditure. It notified Awati and Manhattan in October 2026 that the requirement was met.

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