Resource World Magazine

A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 33 Australian Update by Greg Barns W estern Australia's Pilbara region is best known as home to some of the world's largest iron ore deposits. But recent work by Novo Resources Corp. [NVO-TSXV; NSRPF-OTCQX] at its Karratha Project, a joint venture with Artemis Resources Ltd. [ARV-ASX], is exciting gold stock investors. On July 12, Novo Resources announced it had "found in situ gold nuggets up to 4 cm long in primary conglomerates from its first trench at its Purdy's Reward prospect." The company says, "Purdy's Rewards is part of an 8 km trend that has now been identified by Novo to be highly prospective for conglomerate gold min- eralization considered analogous to the Witwatersrand in South Africa." The announcement saw Novo Resources share price rocket from 0.87c before the announcement to $1.45 on July 17. Novo's total mineral holdings in the Karratha region cover 9,228.5 km 2 with 7,638 km 2 100% controlled by the com- pany. The Purdy's Reward prospect is part of a 1,536 km 2 mineral licence package that forms the farm-in/joint venture agree- ment with Artemis. Novo also has 54.5 km 2 of mineral license applications at the adjacent Comet Well Project, subject to a Memorandum of Agreement with vendors. Novo's discovery of in situ gold nug- gets at Purdy's Reward comes after reports that prospectors had made similar finds in recent years. Novo says that, "in recent years, metal detectorists have discovered gold nuggets, sometimes in concentrated patches, over an extensive area around the city of Karratha. In 2016, several par- ticularly rich nugget patches were found in an area approximately 45 km south of Karratha near Comet Well and Artemis's adjoining Purdy's Reward," the company said. Novo Resources July 12 announcement describes the process leading to the finding. "Fresh rock was encountered at just 30-50 cm below a thin soil horizon. The floor of the first 2x2-metre pit was swept with a metal detector to evaluate distribution of nuggety gold, resulting in multiple zones of coarse gold being evident. Extrication of the bulk sample was undertaken with the help of a pneumatic chisel. Many coarse gold nuggets were readily visible dur- ing excavation, the largest of which was approximately 4 cm long." So where to from here? Novo is testing samples to determine grade and plans to undertake full-scale, systematic, trench, bulk sampling along the strike of the conglomerate package at Purdy's Reward beginning in a few weeks. "Plans are also being made to test the use of large diameter reverse circulation drilling on down-dip projections of these conglomerates," the company said. Novo is equally excited by the Comet Well prospect. Dr. Quinton Hennigh, Novo's Chairman and President, says that the five tenements comprising the Comet Well property cover about 6.5 km of strike along outcropping gold-bearing conglom- erates and that the Purdy's Reward part sits immediately adjacent to Comet Well and covers an additional 1.5 km of min- eralized strike. Comet Well and Purdy's Reward combined gives Novo control over 8 km of critical outcropping conglomerate- hosted gold mineralization. The company notes that in addition, it "has a 100% interest, through staking, in the entirety of down-dip extensions of the mineralized conglomerate horizon. Dr. Hennigh says the company thinks "this conglomerate may underlie a large area on our ground south and southeast of Comet Well-Purdy's Reward." Novo Resources' other Pilbara Project is the Beatons Creek open pit gold project, with a measured and indicated resource of 299,000 oz at 2.7 g/t gold and an inferred resource of 259,000 oz at 2.7 g/t gold. A resource upgrade is expected shortly. Importantly, Novo says, the expertise it has gained at Beatons Creek will be applied to Comet Well-Purdy's Reward where trenching and bulk sampling of known gold bearing deposits are planned. The broader tenement package in the Pilbara is set for stream sediment sampling downstream from prospective stratigraphy- to help identify additional gold-bearing conglomerates. Reconnaissance level map- ping will also be undertaken. Novo Resources is certainly one gold company to keep a close eye on over the next few months. n Novo Resources shares soar on gold nuggets discovery Novo Resources has found in situ gold nuggets up to 4 cm long in primary conglomerates from its rst trench at its Purdy›s Reward prospect, part of Novo's new Karratha gold project located in the West Pilbara, Western Australia. Source: Novo Resources Corp.

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