JV article: Novo targets standalone million-oz deposits as greenfield programs progress 

Novo Resources (ASX, TSX: NVO) is sharpening its focus on large-scale gold and copper discoveries across Australia, targeting standalone deposits with million-ounce potential.  

Backed by A$10 million (C$9.2 million) in cash and A$23 million in liquid investments, the company is advancing greenfield programs across the Pilbara in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, while also seeking advanced projects with the potential to move to a mine decision within five years to add to its portfolio. 

“We have a very clear two-pronged strategy,” Novo Resources CEO Mike Spreadborough said. “We’re looking for the next big things through exploration, and we’re looking for opportunities to bring projects into development.” 

Pilbara potential

“In the Pilbara, we have some super greenfield projects where people have never been before, other than historical prospectors,” Spreadborough said. 

In November, Novo reported new mapping and sampling results from the Teichman target at its Egina Gold Camp. The work outlined multiple prospects across a roughly 3-sq.-km zone, with rock-chip assays returning peak grades of 77.5 grams and 51.4 grams gold per tonne. The results showed 11 of 87 samples grading above 10 grams gold per tonne.  

Drilling at the Sherlock Crossing prospect returned a significant gold–antimony intercept, pointing to a larger mineralized system and the complexity of the high-grade vein network. 

“Assuming we can get access [from landowners], we’ll drill those all the way through next year,” Spreadborough said.  

Teichman sits directly south of Novo’s Egina farm-in and joint venture with Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST). “The Egina joint venture is only 30 km south of the 11-million-oz [indicated and inferred] Hemi mine,” Spreadborough said.  

Tibooburra advancement 

In New South Wales, Novo is advancing early-stage work at the Tibooburra gold project.  

“We’ve seen some really good high-grade results with our maiden drilling program,” Spreadborough said. “The plan there will be to slowly build up the geology and knowledge of the system to see if there’s something economic.” 

Early sampling outlined new targets, including Pioneer North, which returned a peak rock-chip grade of 39.9 grams gold, and Pioneer South, where seven of 20 samples assayed above 4 grams gold, topping out at 19.8 grams gold.  

At the John Bull project near Grafton, NSW, Novo is preparing for follow-up drilling. Previous operators identified zones of high-grade gold on the property, and the company has since secured approval to proceed with its planned drilling to test four priority targets.  

“We are just trying to get access from the landowners to do more drilling programs,” Spreadborough said.  

Belltopper exploration 

In Victoria, Novo is exploring a high-grade gold system 60 km south of Agnico Eagle Mines’ (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) world-class Fosterville gold mine.  

“We like the high-grade gold reef systems that we’re finding there,” Spreadborough said. “We put out an exploration target of 300,000 to 600,000 oz. 18 months ago, and the next stage of that project is to fund more drilling to firm up the exploration target.” 

Going forward, Novo plans to stay focused on exploration while looking for investment opportunities.  

“We’ve got a really globally experienced team,” Spreadborough said. “We’re focusing on those greenfield projects that have the potential to make a big difference.”