Nova Minerals soars on Aus-US summit request

Nova Minerals’ (Nasdaq, ASX: NVA) shares skyrocketed on Tuesday after the Australian miner said that the U.S. government wants it to provide a brief on its antimony project in Alaska ahead of a planned meeting between the nations’ leaders.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 20 in Washington D.C. The pair are likely to discuss critical minerals partnerships amid surging American interest in the sector and speculation that the Trump government could buy stakes in Australia’s miners.

In the Australian market, Nova Minerals soared 16% to a new 52-week high of A90¢ on the news. The stock has now nearly doubled over the past month, hitting a market capitalization of nearly A$360 million.

Meanwhile, its Nasdaq-listed shares have had an even bigger gain, with the stock price rising more than 400% over that period. On Tuesday, Nova jumped nearly 70% to a new high of $58.72, with a market capitalization of $310 million.

Government backing

Mining firms looking to be involved in the talks are expected to brief the Australian government before what would be the first official sitdown between Albanese and Trump. Among those are Nova Minerals, which seeks to build a vertically integrated U.S. antimony operation in Alaska and recently secured a land permit for its proposed refinery at Port MacKenzie.

Local media in Australia also reported that its government is mulling a A$1.2-billion (US$777 million) strategic minerals reserve. It would seem to follow similar efforts by the U.S. and other Western nations.  

The briefing comes after a site visit by the Australian Consular-General, Tanya Bennett, in August. She described the company’s Estelle project in Alaska as a “leading example of the deepening Australia–U.S. collaboration in critical minerals and strategic resource development,” Nova said.

‘Strategic importance’

“Being invited to brief the Australian government for this high-level meeting between Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump is a testament to the strategic importance of the Estelle project,” CEO Christopher Gerteisen stated in a news release on Tuesday.

“With antimony recognized as a critical mineral and our gold resources adding significant value, Nova is well-positioned to contribute to both U.S. and Australian critical minerals strategies,” he added.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of War awarded $43.4 million to the company in support of its proposed antimony operations. Gerteisen said the funding would help fast-track its production of military-spec antimony, targeting first delivery of products within 24 months.