Nova Minerals secures land for Alaska antimony refinery

Nova Minerals (NASDAQ, ASX: NVA) soared after the company announced it has secured a land use permit for its proposed antimony refinery in Alaska, placing it another step closer to becoming a key supplier of the critical mineral in the US.According to a press release issued on Friday, the permit covers 42.81 acres of commercial industrial zoned land near Port MacKenzie (Port Mac), an industrial hub designed as a bulk commodity export facility for industries like mining, and the only port in the state with over 9,000 acres dedicated to commercial and industrial development and growth.The land use permit, the Australia-based company said, would allow it to establish downstream antimony processing and refining operations in Alaska’s Mat-Su Borough, an area with ready infrastructure for rapid development. The refinery site at Port Mac is strategically aligned with the fast-progressing West Susitna Access Road and other regional development projects currently underway, it added.With the permit secured, the company said it is now actively negotiating with the US government on additional funding to build the facility. Earlier this month, Nova Minerals was awarded $43.4 million by the US Department of War to support this project.“With the land use permit secured and the Department of War award, we are rapidly advancing our vision to become the leading US miner and producer of refined antimony products — strategic, secure, and proudly made in the USA,” Nova CEO Christopher Gerteisen stated.“We are fast-tracking Phase 1 production of military-spec antimony, targeting delivery of our first product to the Department of War within 24 months, underscoring our commitment to supporting critical national defense needs.”Nova Minerals’ US-listed shares jumped by more than 10% to an all-time high of $24.86 on the announcement, taking its market capitalization to about $174 million.Alaska antimony resourceThe proposed refinery represents the next phase of Nova’s strategy of onshoring US antimony production by building a fully integrated, mine-to-processing production hub in Alaska. Its Port Mac facility is expected to produce a full range of antimony products, including antimony trisulfide, antimony trioxide and antimony metal, used by both the US military and industrial applications.Anchoring this strategy is the company’s district-scale, 10-million-oz. Estelle gold project. Historically, antimony mining in Alaska has been associated with its large gold deposits. The Estelle project is located within the Tintina gold belt known to host significant antimony deposits in the past and was once a supply of the mineral to the North American market.Nova’s team has so far identified four large, near-surface gold deposits on the 514 km² property, and only recently discovered antimony coincident with the gold in surface sampling on numerous prospects, elevating the project’s status as a critical mineral play that aligns with the Trump administration’s strategy.While no resource has yet been established for antimony, the company has said it plans to publish a resource estimate for the critical mineral some time this year.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com