Nova Minerals stock soars after announcing White House interest in Alaska mining project

Shares of small-cap mining company Nova Minerals (NVA) doubled in premarket trading Tuesday morning after announcing a request from the Trump administration to prepare briefs on one of its gold (GC=F) and minerals extraction sites.

Australia-based Nova Minerals announced in a press release early Tuesday morning that the US ambassador to Australia has asked the company to prepare a briefing on the miner's Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska.

The site is "among the world's largest undeveloped gold assets," according to Nova Minerals. Nova Minerals stock pared some of its initial gains, trading more than 40% higher shortly after the market open.

Fellow Aussie mining companies Fortescue Metals Group (FVJ.SG) and Australian Mines (AMSLF) and multinational British-Australian giant Rio Tinto (RIO) were trading up in sympathy following the news.

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The mining site, roughly 100 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, is projected to hold more than 9.9 million ounces of gold across its four most promising deposits, which would be worth roughly $41 billion at Tuesday morning's gold price of $4,140 per troy ounce.

Nova Minerals also announced at the beginning of October that the Department of Defense made a $43.4 million investment in a wholly owned subsidiary of the company to fund the development of domestic antimony sources.

The announcement is one more in a line of recent developments in the critical minerals and metals sector, as the Trump administration has ratcheted up its focus on the US domestic supply chain of such materials.

Recent moves include investments in a host of mining companies, including MP Materials (MP), which operates the only operational rare earth mine in the US; Trilogy Metals (TMQ), which holds a 50% stake in a major mineral mining project under development in Alaska; and Lithium Americas (LAC), which is developing what is likely to be the largest lithium (LTH=F) mine in the Western Hemisphere when it commences operations.

MP Materials and Trilogy Metals are up more than 500% and more than 490%, respectively, on the year, while Lithium Americas is up more than 180%.

Read more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps

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The Trump administration's focus on the critical minerals supply chain has stepped increasingly into the spotlight as it trades blows with Beijing in an ongoing trade war over the materials, which are critically important to industries such as electric vehicles and weapons systems development.

Initial export controls introduced by Beijing in April in the wake of the initial "Liberation Day" tariff frenzy were stepped up last week when China's Ministry of Commerce announced new export bans on magnets and other applications containing even trace amounts of metals like lithium and cobalt.

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Stocks dropped sharply on Friday after President Trump floated the threat of 100% tariffs on China in response to the export control announcement, before easing fears with a post on Monday signaling a softer tone on Beijing.

China controls roughly 65% of global refining capacity for lithium, a key battery component, which has put the metal under an intense spotlight from the Trump administration.

The market for cobalt has been largely tight since February, when the Democratic Republic of Congo, which controls roughly three-quarters of the metal's global supply, instituted an eight-month ban on exports. Prices for the metal surged to a two-year high on Monday after the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced tighter-than-expected export controls set to take effect on Thursday.

At the same time, valuations of gold and its family of precious metals have skyrocketed throughout 2025 as fears over geopolitical tensions and market uncertainty have pushed investors toward flight-to-safety assets like gold and silver (SI=F), up more than 58% and more than 70%, respectively, on the year.

The price of gold crossed $4,000 per troy ounce for the first time in early October. Silver futures and spot prices both exceeded 45-year highs throughout the first two weeks of the month.View of the Zavalivskyi graphite quarry on Feb. 28 in Zavallia, Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukraine. Zavalivskyi Graphite Plant is a Ukrainian enterprise specializing in the extraction of graphite ore and its processing for industrial needs. (Arsen Dzodzaiev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)·Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at [email protected].

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