Drill Results Deliver High-Grade Intercepts

Drill Results Deliver High-Grade Intercepts

VANCOUVER – Novo Resources Corp. reported high-grade results from the maiden reverse circulation (RC) drill program completed at Nunnery North in late 2023. In addition the Company announced an outline for the 2024 exploration plans for Nunyerry North, at the Egina Gold Camp, as well as planned exploration programs near Karratha. The Nunyerry North project is a 70:30 joint venture with the Creasy Group. Novo is in a strong financial position to execute its exploration plans in 2024.

The Egina Gold Camp is a contiguous tenement package, targeted on a series of structurally complex, gold-fertile corridors, hosted by rocks of the Mallina Basin in the north and mafic / ultramafic sequences further south. These corridors trend towards De Grey’s 11.5 Moz Hemi Gold Project2 to the north and northeast. This tenure has been one of the main focus areas of Novo’s exploration programs over the last eighteen months, culminating in the Egina JV with De Grey, and delineation of the Nunyerry North orogenic gold prospect.

The Nunyerry North prospect is located along the southern extent of the Tabba Tabba Shear, a deep tapping gold-fertile structural corridor where Novo plans to test several key prospects in 2024.

Initial results from both surface and drilling samples indicated visible gold or coarse nuggety gold, with early trials conducted to assess gold variability3. Based on the results, Novo resubmitted all significant drill intercepts for multi-pot PhotonAssayâ„¢ whereby all sample material was split over multiple PhotonAssayâ„¢ pots. The final assay result was calculated as the weighted average of the pot grade and pot weight which resulted in larger overall sample weights and more accurate assay results.

Updated results now include best intercepts of: 1) 6 m at 6.12 g/t Au from 37 m, including 5 m at 7.28 g/t Au from 37 m (NC017). 2) 11 m at 2.52 g/t Au from 22 m, including 6 m at 4.19 g/t Au from 22 m (NC014). 3) 13 m at 1.89 g/t Au from surface, including 4 m at 2.56 g/t Au from 3 m (NC004). 4) 4 m at 5.71 g/t Au from 40 m, including 3 m at 7.47 g/t Au from 41 m (NC015). 5) 17 m at 1.34 g/t Au from 37 m, including 4 m at 3.77 g/t Au from 50 m; 18 m at 0.60 g/t Au from 75 m and 7 m at 1.78 g/t Au from 59 m (NC022) – highlighting significant mineralization over a 55 m intercept. 6) 14 m at 1.14 g/t Au from 39 m (NC006). 7) 16 m at 0.99 g/t Au from 2 m (NC008). 8) 13 m at 0.91 g/t Au from 53 m (NC024). 9) 5 m at 3.12 g/t Au from 26 m, including 4 m at 3.81 g/t Au from 26 m and 13 m at 0.80 g/t Au from surface (NC027).

Out of the 30 holes drilled and assayed, 22 have returned a result greater than one gram metre. The program to date has only tested approximately 200 m of strike extent of the surface soil anomaly, with an additional ~ 2 km remaining untested. Mineralisation is associated with arrays of white quartz veins with minor sulphides including chalcopyrite, hosted by a mafic unit within a dominantly ultramafic package. The mafic may be constrained by the north dipping Freyda Shear and Skadi Shear, with the largest intercept (NC022) adjacent to the Aurora Fault.

First pass drilling defined several zones of mineralised quartz veining with interpreted shallow east plunge (intersection of the vein arrays and the Freyda and Skadi Shear Zones). Several mineralised zones are completely blind. It is likely that additional “blind” lodes exist along the target stratigraphy, suggesting that the more subdued surface soil anomalies over the target stratigraphy are equally as prospective as the area drill tested to date.

Detailed mapping has generated a solid geology interpretation and 3D structural model to better facilitate follow up drill planning. An additional thirty regional rock samples (Appendix 3) were collected from potential new structural targets. The ~4,000 m RC drilling program, which is scheduled to start in Q2 2024, proposes to test multiple targets derived from the mapping program and surface geochemical sampling: 1) Approximately 2 km strike extent of the mapped target stratigraphy with coinciding surface soil anomalism will be drill tested at a nominal drill line spacing of 80 m. In particular, structural intersections with the shears and cross-cutting Aurora and Estrid Faults will be targeted. 2) A moderate surface anomaly exists over the mapped porphyry intrusion west of the Estrid Fault, with several rock samples returning up to 2.87 g/t gold from narrow brecciated quartz veins within the porphyry. Intrusion hosted gold has not previously been identified in the district, and drilling is planned to test for mineralisation style and tenor. 3) A series of structures have been mapped that are parallel to the Aurora Fault or the Freyda and Skadi shears. These represent proof of concept targets that have the potential to delineate additional parallel lodes in parallel basalt. Some of these target positions have returned rock sample results of up to 6.4 g/t Au.

A maiden RC drill program is planned to test three prospects in the Karratha district, with programs to be completed at Railway Bore, East Well, and North Whundo. Drilling is scheduled to start in Q2 2024 and will total ~3,500 m to test gold and gold-copper(+-platinum-palladium) targets defined by a combination of mapping, surface geochemistry and historic geophysics (IP chargeability anomalies).