PERTH, Australia — February 11, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Novo Resources Corp. has released an updated Exploration Target for the Belltopper Gold Project in Victoria, Australia.
The 2026 Exploration Target demonstrates growth in tonnage and grade compared to the 2024 Exploration Target, with tonnage growth increasing by 40% to 48% and gold grade improving by 1.5% to 6%.
The Belltopper Gold Project is located approximately 120 km northwest of Melbourne and 60 km south of Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine in the Bendigo Zone, an area with over 60 million ounces of historical gold production.
Kaiser Reef Limited’s Maldon processing plant is about 40 km northwest of the project area, while Alkane Resources Limited’s Costerfield’s operation is roughly 50 km northeast of Belltopper.
The updated Exploration Target includes the Western Domain Fault as a new reef and encompasses strike and depth extensions on four of the seven priority reefs from the 2024 Exploration Target.
Preliminary planning has begun for potential drilling in the second half of 2026 to further assess the Exploration Target.
According to Novo Resources, the updated 2026 Exploration Target is based on a review of local geology, historical data, and previous drilling on eight prospective reefs within the project area. The updated target includes a new reef and increased strike and dip extents for four of the seven reefs documented in the 2024 Exploration Target.
Mike Spreadborough, Executive Co-Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer, said the team has been working on Belltopper and delivered an excellent result, with tonnage increasing by 40% and 48% and the high-grade nature of Belltopper increasing by 1.5% and 6%.
Spreadborough added that the importance and price of gold since the 2024 Exploration Target has increased significantly, and the company looks forward to completing planning for the next phase of drilling, testing high-priority reefs that sit within and outside the Exploration Target, and unlocking the value opportunity of Belltopper when drilling potentially begins in the second half of 2026.
The company reported that the 2024 Exploration Target, released in September 2024, estimated potential gold mineralization ranging from 1.5 Mt @ 6.6 g/t Au (Low Case) to 2.1 Mt @ 8.4 g/t Au (High Case).
The eight reefs forming the 2026 Exploration Target are defined by mapping, sampling, and 3D modeling of historic reef workings, supported by modern drilling and acquired LiDAR™ and high-resolution ortho-imagery across the project area.
All reefs have some degree of historic mining and/or exploration development, with the most significant mining occurring on the Queens Birthday – Egyptian and O’Connor’s Reefs, where about 90,000 oz Au were produced at recovered grades of between 1-2 oz/t Au.
Novo’s geological understanding of the reef network at Belltopper supports key inputs, drawing upon the detailed 3D reconstruction of historic mining and exploration development data, drilling data, structural and geochemical data, field mapping (including high-resolution LiDAR™ interpretation), and surface rock chip sampling.
Reefs belonging to the 2026 Exploration Target are typically narrow, discrete, continuous structures that can be traced up to 2 km in strike. The Western Domain Fault represents the largest of the north-south workings in this area.
The Leven Star Reef intersection in BTD003 is characterized by a zone of sericite and silica altered sandstone with disseminated chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite and pyrite, narrow (1-2 cm) quartz veining and thin (1-2 mm) feldspar veining.
The company noted that the Piezzi/Stackyard and O’Connor’s reefs were intersected in BTD006 during Novo’s 2023-2024 diamond drilling campaign. A significant intersection of 7 m @ 1.88 g/t Au from 179 m correlates with the modelled NW extension of the Piezzi/Stackyard Reef, while a significant intersection of 1.56 m @ 0.55 g/t Au from 238.14 m correlates with the modelled NW extension of the O’Connor’s Reef.
Small scale historic mining was conducted by various companies on the Western Domain Fault ca. 1880–1920. Historic mining records describe the main north-south trending underground reef from the Western Domain Fault up to a foot wide.
Novo believes that should mining be viable at Belltopper, an underground operation would be the most appropriate option.
Several reefs that currently sit outside of the 2026 Exploration Target have been identified as having the potential to be brought into future updates, the company said.
Novo is an Australian based gold explorer listed on the ASX and the TSX focused on discovering standalone gold and copper projects with > 1 Moz development potential.
Dr. Christopher Doyle (MAIG) and Dr. Simon Dominy (FAusIMM CPGeo; FAIG RPGeo) are the qualified persons responsible for the technical information contained in the release.
Additional information is available at https://novoresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/20260206_Belltopper-Exploration-Target-Update_V8-CLN-FINAL.pdf
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
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Source: Novo Resources Corp.
