Nova Minerals completed engineering and design for its Estelle antimony pilot plant in Alaska, backed by a US$43.4M DoW award. Construction starts this quarter, targeting 2026/27 production.
Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) wrapped up engineering and design work for its fully funded Estelle antimony pilot processing plant in Alaska, clearing the project to move into procurement and construction. The pilot plant is designed to produce military-grade antimony trisulfide using a proprietary hydrometallurgical process that meets United States Department of War (DoW) specifications.
Construction is expected to start during the current quarter. Key equipment has already been delivered or is in transit, and more than 40 containers are scheduled to reach Port MacKenzie in the coming weeks. Nova is targeting initial domestic antimony production in late 2026 or 2027 as part of a broader plan to build an integrated U.S. supply chain for the critical mineral.
The pilot plant will operate across the Whiskey Bravo and Port MacKenzie sites, with each location handling different stages of the processing flowsheet. Bulk sample material from the Stibium and Styx prospects will initially go to Whiskey Bravo for crushing, screening, ore sorting, concentrate storage, and load-out. Selected material will then move to Port MacKenzie by air or snow road for additional crushing, ore sorting, beneficiation, refining, and final product recovery. The refined antimony trisulfide will be filtered, dried, and bagged for shipment to the DoW and other potential customers.
Nova has acquired major plant components from a recently decommissioned North American beneficiation circuit with a limited operating history. The package includes crushers, a ball mill, ore sorters, screens, flotation cells, and conveyors suited to the pilot plant flowsheet. The company expects the equipment acquisition to reduce procurement lead times, improve capital efficiency, and accelerate the transition from engineering into construction and operational readiness. The modular plant design also allows future expansion through additional refining circuits for antimony trioxide and antimony metal production.
The Port MacKenzie facility is intended to become a scalable processing hub capable of treating material from Estelle as well as other regional and international sources. That approach could allow Nova to expand beyond pilot-scale production while supporting a broader domestic antimony supply chain.
The project is backed by a US$43.4 million award from the DoW to advance domestic production from Estelle. Nova considers the completed design and equipment procurement program important steps toward reducing U.S. reliance on imported antimony.
Chief executive officer Christopher Gerteisen said Nova’s work at Port MacKenzie remains ahead of schedule.
Prepared with AlphaScala editorial tooling from the source reporting linked above. Indexable analysis may include a cited Alpha Score value. Publishing checks screen each story before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.