Strickland Metals Ltd (ASX:STK) has started a new phase of drilling at the high-priority Gradina Prospect, part of its 100%-owned, 5.4-million-ounce gold equivalent Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project in Serbia.
Gradina is one of four skarn-hosted gold and base metals prospects at Rogozna and represents a key target for the delineation of a near-term initial mineral resource estimate, contributing to the continued rapid growth of the Rogozna Project.
A new access track was recently completed at Gradina, enabling the current 10,000-metre diamond drilling program to target near-surface extensions of high-grade mineralisation previously encountered at depth.
To date, Strickland has delineated high-grade gold mineralisation at Gradina over 1-kilometre of strike at vertical depths of 200 metres to 1,000 metres below surface.
The 21,000 metres of previous drilling has returned significant intercepts including 27.5 metres at 5.1 g/t gold from 439.8 metres; 32 metres at 6.8 g/t gold from 595 metres; and 22 metres at 4.0 g/t gold from 691 metres.
This thick high-grade gold mineralisation is projected to extend to near-surface — based on geophysical and geochemical datasets — and may represent the shallowest deposit at Rogozna alongside the outcropping Copper Canyon.
As is the case with the other deposits, relatively continuous mineralisation at Gradina occurs over broad widths, with down-hole intercepts typically in the range of 100 to 200 metres thick. Most of the metal within the broader mineralised volume is contained within multiple 5- to 20-metre-thick higher-grade zones.
Gradina Prospect cross-section view with previous drilling, planned drilling and density anomaly.
Following up high grades at depth
“This new program at the Gradina Prospect provides a very exciting opportunity to follow-up significant widths of high-grade gold mineralisation previously encountered at depth,” Strickland managing director Paul L’Herpiniere said.
“Having constructed a new access track over recent months, we can now drill-test the Gradina system close to surface for the first time in the project’s history.
“All available datasets indicate that the steeply dipping mineralised lodes encountered in previous drilling extend updip towards surface.
“If we are successful in drilling similar widths and tenor of mineralisation near-surface, we expect that this high-priority target will rapidly take shape and make a considerable contribution to the growth of the Rogozna Resource inventory over the next 12 months.”
Four rigs on site
Four drill rigs are operating across the Rogozna Project, with assay results pending for multiple holes.
In addition to the drill rig at Gradina, the company has two rigs that continue to drill the central domain at the Shanac deposit and a fourth rig drilling a deep exploration hole at Medenovac.
Several Shanac holes are now undergoing analysis at the lab, along with one hole from Medenovac and two exploration holes that were recently completed at the Kotlovi Prospect. Strickland expects results to be back in the coming weeks.