Estelle Gold Project (Korbel Main, RPM North, RPM South) PEA: $654M NPV, 53.3% IRR
Nova Minerals Limited's Estelle Gold Project (Korbel Main, RPM North, RPM South) in Tintina Gold Belt, Alaska, USA (approx. 150 km northwest of Anchorage) has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining a pre-tax NPV of $654M and a pre-tax IRR of 53.3%. The mine plan runs 17 years at about 132 koz Au per year.
Nova Minerals Limited's Estelle Gold Project (Korbel Main, RPM North, RPM South) has reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results for the gold project in Tintina Gold Belt, Alaska, USA (approx. 150 km northwest of Anchorage). The study headlines a pre-tax net present value of $654M at a 5% discount rate. It reflects Nova Minerals Limited's (NVA) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The pre-tax NPV is $654M using a 5% discount rate. Pre-tax IRR is 53.3%. The study models a payback period of 0.92 years. Economics are based on US$1,800/oz gold (used in cut-off grades and economic analysis); no royalties.
Production and mine plan. Life of mine is 17 years. Average annual production is approximately 132 koz Au. Average head grade is 0.73 g/t Au (LOM average mill feed grade). Metallurgical recovery averages 88.25%.
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 85% interest in the project. Royalties and streams: AK Minerals Pty Ltd holds a 2% NSR (ASX Announcement: 20 November 2017).
These figures are extracted from Nova Minerals Limited's technical disclosures and reflect the most recent PEA on file. Compare this project against other developers and producers in our project economics database, and always verify the numbers against the original technical report before making any investment decision.
Reserves & Resources
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 1,343,000 t | 4.26 g/t Au | 5,726,000 g Au |
| Indicated | 2,330,000 t | 2.03 g/t Au | 4,725,000 g Au |
| Inferred | 11,962,000 t | 0.65 g/t Au | 7,785,000 g Au |
| Inferred | 12,320,000 t | 0.56 g/t Au | 6,898,000 g Au |
| Indicated | 182,277,000 t | 0.33 g/t Au | 59,589,000 g Au |
| Inferred | 21,143,000 t | 0.27 g/t Au | 5,804,000 g Au |
Our Analysis
- IRR pre-tax
- 53.3%
higher than 72% of 119 projects we track
- NPV pre-tax
- $654M
higher than 55% of 192 projects we track
- Payback
- 0.9yrs
slower than 10% of 102 projects we track
- Mine life
- 17yrs
- Discount rate
- 5%
- Study price assumption
- US$1,800/oz gold (used in cut-off grades and economic analysis); no royalties
- Spot gold today
- $4,216.30/oz
Against the 119 gold projects we track, this one's 53.3% pre-tax IRR sits in the upper half, ahead of roughly 72% of that peer set. That is a genuinely strong rank, and it is the number to anchor on rather than the headline NPV, which at $654M pre-tax ranks ahead of only 55% of the 192 gold projects we track. The gap between those two placings tells you something: the returns profile is better than the asset's absolute size. Payback of 0.9 years, faster than 90% of the 102 projects we track on that measure, reinforces the same point. Against the roughly 15% after-tax IRR developers typically need to attract project finance, a 53.3% pre-tax figure carries real headroom, though the study's 5% discount rate is a reporting convention rather than an investment hurdle and should not be read as a signal.
The constraint is the study itself. This is a PEA, scoping-level work that may rest on inferred resources and carries a capital estimate with a plus or minus 50% band. A 17-year life and a development-stage asset in Alaska's Tintina Gold Belt, northwest of Anchorage, describe a mining-friendly jurisdiction, but the capital number that underpins these returns has not yet been through the rigour a feasibility study would impose. That is the difference between a promising ranking and a financeable project.
Funding risk is the other side. At a US$2.40B market cap, the pre-tax NPV is a fraction of that value, so this asset is not the whole story: it is one of 27 projects the company tracks, a diversified portfolio, which softens single-asset concentration but also means this project competes internally for capital. The study assumes US$1,800/oz gold with no royalties; live spot at $4,216.30/oz sits far above that, so the economics may be conservative on price even as the capital estimate stays unproven. The question that decides this: does the PEA's capital number survive a feasibility study?
Our take, benchmarked against the project economics in the Mining Stocks database. Figures are estimates drawn from company technical reports — not investment advice; always verify against the source filing.