Novo Resources lifts Belltopper target as geological model unlocks new reef potential

Novo Resources Corp (TSX:NVO, OTCQX:NSRPF, ASX:NVO, FRA:1NOR) has delivered a substantial upgrade to the Exploration Target at its Belltopper Gold Project in Victoria, lifting potential tonnage, grades and contained ounces following a detailed reassessment of historical data, geology and drilling.

The updated 2026 Exploration Target estimates between 460,000 ounces and 880,000 ounces of contained gold, up from the 2024 range of 320,000 ounces to 570,000 ounces. On a percentage basis, this represents a 44% increase at the low end and 54% at the high end.

The revised target spans 2.1 million–3.1 million tonnes at grades of 6.7 g/t to 8.9 g/t gold, reflecting improvements in both scale and confidence as the company refines its understanding of the Belltopper reef system.

Overview Map of the Belltopper Gold Project showing location of the eight reefs included in the 2026 Exploration Target, downhole gold tenor, historical workings and important geological elements of the field

New reef and strike extensions drive growth

A key contributor to the upgrade is the inclusion of the Western Domain Fault as a new reef within the Exploration Target, alongside strike and depth extensions across four of the seven priority reefs included in the 2024 model.

Novo said the uplift was driven by reinterpretation of local geology, historical mining data and drilling results, supported by high-resolution LiDAR imagery, surface sampling and 3D modelling of historic workings.

Compared with the 2024 Exploration Target, the updated model shows:

• Tonnage growth of 40–48%
• Gold grade improvement of up to 6%
• Contained gold increases of 44–54%

The revised modelling also reflects changes in how grade is assigned, incorporating historical metallurgical recovery and reinterpretation of waste and low-grade material.

Example from Novo's 3D Model, showing historical mine infrastructure, diamond drilling and assay callouts, beneath LiDAR

Belltopper sits in proven Victorian gold terrain

Belltopper is located within Victoria’s gold-prolific Bendigo Tectonic Zone, around 120 kilometres northwest of Melbourne and about 60 kilometres south of Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine.

The broader district has produced more than 60 million ounces of gold historically and is characterised by dense networks of narrow, high-grade epizonal gold reefs. Novo noted that several operating and historic processing facilities sit within trucking distance of the project, providing longer-term infrastructure optionality should mining prove viable.

Belltopper Gold Project location map with regional gold occurrences and major structure.

Management points to improving scale and confidence

Executive co-chairman and acting chief executive officer Mike Spreadborough said the upgrade reflected the strength of the evolving geological model at Belltopper.

“The team has been working extremely hard on Belltopper and have delivered an excellent result,” Spreadborough said.

“The importance and price of gold since our 2024 Exploration Target has increased significantly and we look forward to completing our planning for the next phase of drilling, testing high-priority reefs that sit within and outside the Exploration Target and unlocking the exciting value opportunity of Belltopper when we potentially kick off drilling in the second half of 2026.”

MD17 (102.06 m–105.53 m). Interpreted Western Domain Fault between 102.06 m and 103.6 m. Significant intersection of 0.95 m @ 10.0 g/t Au from 102.65 m with elevated arsenic returned from this interval.

Drilling planning begins

Novo has commenced preliminary planning for the potential drilling campaign at Belltopper, aimed at providing further confidence in the updated Exploration Target and testing high-priority reefs both within and outside the current model.

Several lightly tested historic reefs sit outside the 2026 Exploration Target and have been flagged as strong candidates for future drill testing, highlighting further upside potential beyond the current estimate.

Early-stage project with clear upside optionality

Novo emphasised that Belltopper remains at an early stage of evaluation, with insufficient exploration completed to define Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves under the JORC Code.

However, the company said the updated Exploration Target demonstrates the growing scale of the system and provides a clearer technical foundation for advancing exploration as it works towards validating Belltopper’s potential as a high-grade underground gold project in one of Australia’s most established gold provinces.