VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novo Resources Corp. (“Novo” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: NVO; OTCQX: NSRPF) is pleased to provide an update of activities at its Egina Gold Project, Western Australia.
Whilst exploration activities are planned across the breadth of Novo’s +12,000 sq km of Pilbara tenement holdings, Novo’s project development priorities this field season are focused around the historic gold mining centres of Egina and Station Peak. Following a brief delay in returning to site owing to the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Veronica, works are now on track to meet original schedules. Current activities can be characterized as follows:
- The Station Peak camp, headquarters for the Egina Gold Project, has been fully upgraded to a 16-bed camp, sufficiently large to house necessary staff for upcoming bulk sampling and processing work (Figure 1). Given the project is remote, nearly 60 km from the Coastal Highway, Novo determined this upgrade is critical to safe and sustainable operations at Egina.
- Edwards Construction of Port Hedland has been awarded a contract for all earthmoving at the project. Equipment has been delivered to site (Figure 2) where it is currently being used to reconfigure the processing area for receipt and handling of bulk samples and tailings.
- The Company’s IGR3000 gravity gold plant is undergoing upgrades to streamline processing of bulk samples as well as ensure maximum recovery of gold (Figure 3). A conveyor with a digital weightometer is being installed for accurate measurement of sample mass. This work is expected to be completed over the next month.
- A series of five water bores are currently being drilled near the Station Peak camp to ensure sufficient water is available for bulk sample processing.
- Ground penetrating radar (“GPR”) (Figure 4) and magnetic surveys (Figure 5) were recently completed over the initial target area, an approximately one square km area where the previous operator excavated numerous trenches. GPR data is currently being processed, but initial indications suggest the targeted gold-bearing gravel horizon is laterally consistent and shallow as predicted. More refined processing of data may identify shallow depressions, possible trap sites for alluvial gold. Detailed magnetic data will help identify areas where heavy magnetitic sands have accumulated, another potential proxy for alluvial gold concentrations. Accurate modeling of GPR and magnetic data is considered critical to helping lay out the network of sample sites across the target area. Bulk sample excavation will commence once this model has been completed and sample sites chosen over the coming weeks.
- Systematic mapping and metal detecting are being carried out across the greater Egina mining lease in order to better understand the extent of gold-bearing lag gravels as well as potential gold sources in underlying bedrock. Numerous gold nuggets have been discovered and recorded. While most are rounded (Figure 6), an indication of being sourced from weathering of local conglomerates, a few are hackly and attached to quartz (Figure 7), a sign they originate from veins in the underlying Mallina Formation basement rocks. This is intriguing, because it suggests there may be local hardrock targets at Egina.
“I am pleased with progress at our Egina Gold Project,” commented Dr. Quinton Hennigh, President, Director, and Chairman of Novo. “We are confident we will be working at Egina for a long time and therefore decided to invest in a new, large camp suitable for sustainable operations at this remote location. Earth moving equipment has been delivered, and preparations for bulk sample processing including upgrades to Novo’s IGR3000 gravity gold plant are well underway. Data from our recently completed GPR and magnetic surveys appear highly useful for laying out our bulk sample sites. We expect to be excavating bulk samples commencing in late-June with processing commencing by early July once plant upgrades are complete. In the meantime, our scout mapping and metal detecting campaign has added to our understanding of the extent of gold-bearing lag gravels across the mining lease as well as suggested we may have local bedrock gold sources. This is going to be a very exciting year for the Company as we continue to understand the prospectivity of this unique gold system.”
Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P. Geo., the Company’s, President, Chairman, and a Director, and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has approved the geological content of this news release.
About Novo Resources Corp.
Novo’s focus is to explore and develop gold projects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and Novo has built up a significant land package covering approximately 13,000 sq km with varying ownership interests. For more information, please contact Leo Karabelas at (416) 543-3120 or e-mail leo@novoresources.com
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
Novo Resources Corp.
“Quinton Hennigh”
Quinton Hennigh
President and Chairman
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Forward-looking information
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including, without limitation, statements as to planned exploration activities and the expected timing of the receipt of results, as well as the expected timing of commencement and completion of exploration activities on Novo’s Egina property. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, customary risks of the mineral resource industry as well as the performance of services by third parties.
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