Novo Drills for Gold in NSW, Chasing Victorian Goldfields Potential

PERTH, Australia – July 29, 2026 – Novo Resources Corp. is advancing its search for a major gold discovery in New South Wales, formalizing a key partnership and launching a significant drilling campaign at its Tibooburra Gold Project. The move signals a critical step in translating early-stage exploration success into a potentially viable commercial project, targeting high-grade gold in a region geologically compared to Victoria's legendary goldfields.

The Australian-based explorer announced it has finalized a Joint Venture and Option Agreement with Manhattan Gold Corporation and its subsidiary, Awati Resources. This solidifies a strategic alliance and paves the way for a ~2,700-metre Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program slated to begin in late Q3 2026, pending final regulatory and landholder approvals.

Solidifying the Partnership, De-Risking Development

The formalization of the joint venture marks a pivotal commercial milestone for the Tibooburra project. Moving beyond the initial term sheet signed in December 2024, the new agreements establish a clear pathway for development. Under the terms, Novo will earn a 70% interest in the project's precious and base metal rights by completing a total expenditure of A$1.5 million. As of June 30, 2026, the company had already invested A$1.31 million, demonstrating its commitment and the project's rapid progress.

As part of the deal, Novo will issue 1.5 million common shares to Awati Resources. Crucially for the project's financial trajectory, the agreement includes a "free carry" provision for Awati. This means Novo will shoulder all exploration and development costs until the completion of a bankable feasibility study—the comprehensive economic analysis required before committing to mine construction.

This structure is a classic example of strategic risk-sharing in the mineral exploration sector. It allows Novo to control a highly prospective asset and direct its exploration strategy, while its junior partner, Manhattan Gold, retains a significant 30% stake in any future success without facing the financial burden of early-stage, high-risk exploration. For investors, this partnership structure de-risks the path to commercialization by ensuring the project is well-funded through its critical discovery and definition phases.

Targeting High-Grade Gold at Clone and Pioneer South

With the corporate structure solidified, the focus now shifts to the ground, where Novo is preparing a two-pronged drilling campaign designed to both expand known mineralization and test new, undrilled targets. The ~2,700-metre program is strategically divided between the project's two most compelling prospects: Clone and Pioneer South.

The Clone prospect will receive the bulk of the drilling (~1,700 metres). Here, the objective is to test the northern, down-plunge extension of a shallow, high-grade gold shoot. Previous drilling by Novo in 2025 returned impressive results that confirmed the area's potential, including a standout intercept of 12 metres at 5.90 grams per tonne (g/t) Au from a depth of just 16 metres, which itself contained a richer zone of 5 metres at 13.74 g/t Au. This upcoming drilling will step out 100 and 200 metres to the north of existing drill lines, aiming to substantially grow the footprint of this mineralization, which remains open.

In contrast, the program at Pioneer South (~1,000 metres) represents a true discovery opportunity. This will be the first-ever drill test of a continuous 600-metre trend of outcropping gold-bearing quartz reefs. While undrilled, the prospect is far from a blind target. It is characterized by numerous historic mine workings and compelling surface rock-chip samples that have assayed as high as 19.8 g/t Au. The drilling is designed to test beneath the most promising surface expressions of the reef system, targeting zones where geological structures are believed to be most favourable for trapping high-grade gold.

The 'Victorian Goldfields' Analogy: Unlocking a Regional Giant?

The excitement surrounding Tibooburra extends beyond the immediate drill targets. The project's true allure lies in its regional potential and its geological similarity to one of Australia's most prolific gold provinces: the Victorian Goldfields. The company notes that the Tibooburra project is hosted in a turbidite-dominated sequence and shares key structural and geological characteristics with the multi-million-ounce orogenic gold deposits of Central Victoria.

This is not just marketing flair; it is a geological model that guides the entire exploration strategy. Orogenic gold systems, like those in Victoria, are known for their depth extent, high grades, and occurrence in "camps" or districts. The geology at Tibooburra, defined by major, crustal-scale faults, intense alteration, and tightly folded host rocks, is a textbook setting for this style of mineralization. Prospects like Clone and Pioneer are located within a northwest-trending fault corridor that stretches for over 30 kilometres, and it is one of several such prospective corridors on the property.

The Albert Goldfields, where the project is located, has a history of gold production from the late 1800s, but it has seen remarkably little modern, systematic exploration. Much of the prospective geology is hidden beneath a thin layer of younger cover, leaving vast areas effectively untested by modern techniques. Novo's work, which includes regional soil and stream sampling alongside targeted drilling, is designed to peel back this cover and test the theory that a major gold system, analogous to those in Victoria, lies waiting to be discovered.

A Strategic Piece in Novo's Exploration Puzzle

For Novo Resources, the Tibooburra project is a key component of a broader corporate strategy focused on discovering standalone gold projects with the potential to exceed one million ounces. While the company holds a massive land package in Western Australia's Pilbara region and the promising Belltopper project in Victoria's Bendigo zone, the farm-in at Tibooburra provides another high-impact exploration opportunity in a different jurisdiction, diversifying its portfolio.

The company's approach of using farm-in agreements to enter projects allows it to manage risk while gaining exposure to significant upside. With a reported cash balance of A$11 million and an investment portfolio valued at A$21 million as of its last quarterly report, Novo is well-funded to advance its exploration programs, including the upcoming campaign at Tibooburra.

The planned drilling represents a crucial test of the company's geological model. Positive results would not only expand the known mineralization at Clone and potentially deliver a new discovery at Pioneer South but would also provide strong validation for the 'Victorian Goldfields' analogy. Such a success would significantly upgrade the perceived potential of the entire Koonenberry Gold District and solidify Novo's position at the forefront of unlocking a promising new chapter for gold exploration in New South Wales.