Strickland Metals Ltd (ASX:STK) has completed its acquisition of the Rogozna gold and base metals project in the globally significant Tethyan Metallogenic Belt in Serbia.
The project contains a JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 5.44 million ounces gold equivalent. This consists of 2.96 million ounces of gold, 214,000 tonnes of copper and 364,000 tonnes of zinc.
There is also significant additional exploration potential defined by more than 100,000 metres of historical drilling.
Resource expansion drilling and exploration drilling has commenced, with a 60,000-metre diamond drilling campaign to be undertaken through to late 2025.
Signifying its enthusiasm around the newly acquired project, Strickland now has three diamond rigs drilling and a fourth rig will begin shortly.
"Significant milestone"
Strickland chair Anthony McClure said: “Today marks a significant milestone for Strickland Metals as we proudly announce the completion of the acquisition of Rogozna Project.
“The Rogozna Project, with its substantial JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource of 5.44 million ounces gold equivalent, not only enhances our asset portfolio but also provides us with an exceptional opportunity to explore and develop the project into one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits globally.
"Our immediate focus is the commencement of comprehensive exploration programs across the four key deposits at Shanac, Medenovac, Gradina and Copper Canyon.
“By leveraging over 100,000 metres of historical drilling data and deploying multiple diamond rigs to deliver a comprehensive 60,000-metre drilling program, we aim to rapidly expand and increase confidence in the existing JORC-compliant mineral resource. Three diamond rigs have already commenced with a fourth to commence shortly.
“We have a strong cash position for an exploration company and Rogozna represents the perfect opportunity through which we can deploy some of that balance sheet strength to deliver substantial additional value for Strickland shareholders.
The project
The Rogozna Project contains a large-scale gold-base metal system in a geologically favourable position in the Serbian Cenozoic igneous province, within the globally significant Tethyan Metallogenic Belt. The project tenure comprises four exploration licences covering around 184 square kilometres.
Serbia has an established mining industry with a long history of large-scale producing assets and is Europe’s second-largest copper producer.
Multiple major mining companies are active in the country including BHP (ASX:BHP), Vale, Zijin Mining, Kinross Gold, Dundee Precious Metals and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO).
Drilling underway
Strickland’s proposed 60,000-metre diamond drilling plan, which is expected to run through to the end of next year, is designed to deliver a substantial increase to the 5.4-million-ounce MRE.
This program will involve approximately 35,000 metres of resource definition drilling, focused on the Shanac and Copper Canyon deposits (both with existing resources), as well as Medenovac and Gradina, where Strickland hopes to deliver maiden MREs by mid-2025.
The program will also include around 25,000 metres of discovery-focused drilling to test the extensive pipeline of exploration targets that exist across the project area.
Strickland highlights that it remains “extremely well-funded” to advance exploration at both the Rogozna and its Yandal projects, with cash and shares in Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) worth around $51.4 million at the end of the March quarter.
Management changes
The completion of the Rogozna project acquisition, via the acquisition of the project owner, Betoota Holdings Ltd, sees Paul L’Herpiniere commence as Strickland managing director and Dr Jon Hronsky appointed non-executive director. Both are very well acquainted with the project, having been closely involved in its development since 2019.
L’Herpiniere is an exploration geologist with more than 20 years of international experience. He was a founder and general partner at resource-focused private equity firm Ibaera Capital and was previously the manager of exploration at Fortescue (ASX:FMG), where his exploration team was one of the largest operating in Australia
Dr Hronsky has more than 40 years of experience in the global mineral exploration industry, with particular expertise in nickel sulphide and gold deposits.
His targeting work led to the discovery of the West Musgrave nickel sulphide province in Western Australia and he has an Order of Australia Medal for services to the mining industry. He is a non-executive director of Encounter Resources, Caspin Resources and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN).
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