Strickland Metals Ltd (ASX:STK) is eyeing a major new gold discovery at its Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project in Serbia, which looks set to reinforce the region's high-value resource-bearing potential.
Gold and base metals ahoy
Recent scout drilling at the Kotlovi prospect, some 350 metres west of the established Medenovac deposit, has yielded strong gold and base metal mineralisation, including:
- 40.3 metres at 2.6 g/t gold, including a notable interval of 12 metres at 5.7 g/t; and
- 17 metres at 3.5 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) from 744.7 metres, which includes 11 metres at 4.6 g/t AuEq.
The gold-equivalent grade considers additional metals such as copper, silver, lead and zinc, all of which enhance the economic attractiveness of the find.
Indeed, the diverse mineralisation styles encountered, including skarn-hosted gold and base metals and breccia-hosted mineralisation, point to the geological richness of the prospect.
Could be linked to Medenovac
What’s more, its geological characteristics share similarities with Medenovac, suggesting a potential connection between the two deposits that could further increase the project’s overall resource potential.
The discovery has encouraged Strickland’s team, who mapped and sampled historical surface workings in 2022.
“Our exploration team in Serbia has done it again!” Strickland managing director Paul L’Herpiniere enthused.
“This is the third discovery made at Rogozna in the past four years, which is testament to the skill and dedication of our team combined with the incredible scale and geological potential of this exceptional project.
“The Kotlovi discovery is a particularly satisfying one for our team, as to deliver a greater than 100 GxM intercept in the first exploration holes into a large new target is a rare achievement.
“Kotlovi has long been recognised for its potential since mapping and sampling of historical surface workings was undertaken by the team in 2022 and these drilling results further validate our targeting approach.
“It also provides the team with a great sense of pride to make this first discovery under the Strickland Metals banner.
“Given its proximity to Medenovac – the potential of which itself has been highlighted in recent drilling announcements – there is a real possibility that these two bodies of mineralisation may be connected, which bodes well for the overall resource potential of this system.
Scoping out its ultimate scale
“We now turn our attention to the planning of follow-up holes into this exciting discovery, with the aim of scoping out its ultimate scale, determining the geological controls on higher-grade mineralisation zones and testing the very real potential for the mineralisation extending much closer to surface.
“Rogozna continues to stamp its credentials as a genuinely Tier-1 asset with multiple existing and emerging deposits, plus a rapidly growing discovery and exploration pipeline – all within an incredibly under-explored 184-square-kilometre licence footprint.”
Drilling data suggest the mineralised volume at Kotlovi spans a considerable 500 metres in length, 200 metres in width and 700 metres vertically, with mineralisation remaining open in all directions.
The high-grade zones, particularly the endoskarn-hosted gold-only mineralisation, are encouraging indicators of further high-grade mineralisation at depth.
What’s next?
Strickland is planning follow-up drilling at Kotlovi to better delineate the mineralised zones and explore the inkling that there is also shallower mineralisation present.
Four drill rigs are on site at the project now for follow-up drilling but also to test for mineralisation extensions at the nearby Gradina prospect, while other rigs focus on porphyry-related targets at Jezerska Reka.
Strickland is well-funded to pursue this aggressive campaign, with a balance of A$41.1 million in cash and shares.
Plan view map of the Kotlovi and neighbouring Medenovac Prospects, showing drill traces, projected volumes of drill-defined mineralisation, historical workings and background gold.