Nova Minerals Redchip Investor Update - October 2026 - NOVA MINERALS CORP

Financial Performance:

• Company holds $27 million in cash reserves; approximately 50% ($12-13M) designated for gold project and the remainder for antimony.
• Received ~$22 million of the $43.4 million Department of Defense (DoD) award to date, with the remaining $21 million contingent on milestone completion.
• Zero corporate debt on the balance sheet.
• Share price currently hovering around $6.00 with a market capitalization slightly over $200 million.
• Revenue generation anticipated in late 2027 (Phase 1 antimony production) and 2028 (Phase 2 scaling).

Guidance and Future Outlook:

• Antimony: On track to commence Phase 1 construction in early 2027, commission plant mid-year to early fall 2027, and produce first military-grade antimony trisulfide by September 2027.
• Gold: Pre-feasibility study (PFS) target completion set for 2028; Full Investment Decision (FID) and permit submission targeted for 2028–2029.
• Phase 2: Scaling up antimony production (metal and trioxide) planned for 2028 and beyond.
• Gold PFS Rationale: Timeline extended to 2028 to comply with SEC S-K 1300 requirements, necessitating drilling to convert "Inferred" resources to "Measured/Indicated" for economic modeling.
• Funding Strategy: Antimony revenue intended to non-dilutively fund future gold project expansion.

Business Segments and Product Lines:

• Antimony (Critical Minerals): Dual focus on "Stibium" and "Styx" prospects; processing equipment (500+ tons) has landed at Port McKenzie.
  • Flow Sheet: On-site ore sorting (3-5x upgrade) followed by hydrometallurgical refining (leaching, electro-winning) to produce antimony metal and trisulfide.
  • Port McKenzie: Engineered as a scalable, modular, multimodal refining hub with capacity to process 700 tons of metal in Phase 1, serving as a national critical minerals hub.
• Gold: Two main deposits: Corbell (bulk tonnage, 800M tons @ 0.3 g/t) and RPM (high-grade, "jewel in the crown," 500k oz starter pit @ 2 g/t).
  • Resource Base: 10M oz global JORC resource; 5.2M oz economic resource within $2,000/oz shell.
  • Metallurgy: Coarse particle flotation for Corbell (cost savings); conventional milling/flotation/CIL for RPM with >95% recovery rates.
• Other Critical Elements: Exploring extraction of 15+ critical elements (Bismuth, Tellurium, Tungsten) from tailings; collaboration with University of Alaska Fairbanks and DoD.

Market and Competitive Landscape:

• Jurisdiction: Alaska ranked top 3-5 globally for geological prospectivity and business climate; project located on state land (no federal or native corporation land constraints), streamlining permitting.
• Geopolitical Catalyst: Recent Executive Order "Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Mineral Resource Potential" supports expedited permitting for domestic critical mineral production.
• Infrastructure: West Susitna Access Road (100 miles) is advancing; first 20 miles in DOT budget, next 80 miles secured $25M for permitting.
• Competition/Interest: BHP Group has recently staked claims surrounding the project, validating regional exploration potential.
• Market Need: Urgent demand for domestic military-grade antimony trisulfide for munitions manufacturing due to global supply chain vulnerabilities.

Risks and Challenges:

• Resource Definition: Significant portion of RPM resource remains "Inferred," requiring extensive drilling before PFS economics can be finalized under S-K 1300.
• Permitting Timeline: While state land reduces risk, full mine permitting post-PFS still faces a potential 12-18 month window.
• Infrastructure Dependency: Long-term viability of the project relies on the completion of the West Susitna Access Road by 2028.
• Operational: Transitioning from exploration/developer to a producing company introduces execution risks regarding plant commissioning and supply chain logistics in remote Alaska.

Management Commentary and Tone:

• Tone: Highly confident and optimistic; emphasizes being "on schedule, on budget, and on track."
• Team Presence: CEO and General Manager emphasize living in Alaska and being "in the trenches" daily, contrasting with fly-by-night operators.
• Strategic Narrative: Positions the company as a "dual-commodity" (Gold/Antimony) play that solves national security needs (DoD) while offering long-term gold value.
• Confidence: Management asserts that metallurgical test work has successfully produced the required military-grade products in the lab, validating the flow sheet before resource definition is complete.

Analyst Questions and Answers:

• Q: New timeline for Gold Project PFS?
  • A: Targeting 2028 completion. Deliberate delay is due to the need to drill "Inferred" resources to "Measured/Indicated" status to satisfy S-K 1300. Revenue from Antimony (starting 2027) will help fund this drilling.
• Q: Key Catalysts for next 12-18 months?
  • A: Construction commencement and plant commissioning in 2027; transition from explorer to producer with first antimony trisulfide production (Sept 2027); potential additional DoD funding for Phase 2 expansion.

Other Key Points:

• Ore Stockpiling: Company has stockpiled several hundred tons of high-grade stibnite ore from the Styx prospect for Phase 1 feed.
• Equipment Procurement: Secured a pilot plant from Agnico Eagle (Hope Bay, Canada) as the front-end crushing/milling core, ensuring a complete, compatible package.
• Infrastructure Upgrades: Airstrip expansion underway to transition from C-130 capable (7,000 lb payload) to C-130 Hercules capable (42,000 lb payload).
• Corbell Strategy: Includes low-grade bulk tonnage in resource tables because ore sorting allows economic recovery of high-grade veins within the sheeted system, avoiding the need to discard lower-grade waste.
• Future Revenue Streams: Potential monetization of the "reject" ore stream (high gold, low antimony) from the ore sorter as a separate revenue source.