Nova Minerals Completes Design for Estelle Antimony Pilot Plant in Alaska

Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) has completed engineering and design for its fully funded Estelle antimony pilot processing plant in Alaska, clearing the project to move into procurement and construction.

The pilot plant is designed to produce military-grade antimony trisulfide using a proprietary hydrometallurgical process developed to meet United States Department of War (DoW) specifications.

Construction is expected to begin during the current quarter, with key equipment already delivered or in transit and more than 40 containers scheduled to reach Port MacKenzie in the coming weeks.

Nova is targeting initial domestic antimony production in late 2026 or 2027 as part of a broader strategy to establish an integrated United States supply chain for the critical mineral.

Dual-Site Processing Strategy

The pilot plant will operate across the Whiskey Bravo and Port MacKenzie sites, with each location handling different stages of the processing flowsheet.

Bulk sample material from the Stibium and Styx prospects will initially be transported to Whiskey Bravo for crushing, screening, ore sorting, concentrate storage, and load-out.

Selected material will then move to Port MacKenzie by air or snow road for additional crushing, ore sorting, beneficiation, refining, and final product recovery.

The refined antimony trisulfide will be filtered, dried, and bagged for shipment to the US Department of War and other potential customers.

Plant Components Procured

Nova has acquired major plant components from a recently decommissioned North American beneficiation circuit with a limited operating history.

The package includes crushers, a ball mill, ore sorters, screens, flotation cells, and conveyors suited to the pilot plant flowsheet.

Nova expects the equipment acquisition to reduce procurement lead times, improve capital efficiency, and accelerate the transition from engineering into construction and operational readiness.

The modular plant design also allows future expansion through additional refining circuits for antimony trioxide and antimony metal production.

Supply Hub Potential

The Port MacKenzie facility is intended to become a scalable processing hub capable of treating material from Estelle as well as other regional and international sources.

That approach could allow Nova to expand beyond pilot-scale production while supporting a broader domestic antimony supply chain.

The project is backed by a US$43.4 million award from the DoW to advance domestic production from Estelle.

Nova considers the completed design and equipment procurement program important steps towards reducing US reliance on imported antimony.

Execution Phase Begins

Chief executive officer Christopher Gerteisen said Nova’s work at Port MacKenzie remains ahead of schedule.

“The engineering and design plan has been developed based on extensive metallurgical test work and process flowsheet development,” he said.

“With this work complete and procurement of key equipment now finalised, the project has entered the execution phase.”

“Ore extraction and construction of the process plant are next steps as we continue progressing towards near-term antimony production.”