Strickland Metals Ltd (ASX:STK) has embarked on initial reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaigns at Yandal and Earaheedy, with its sights trained on the Rabbit Well prospect and pending assay results.
Maiden campaigns launched
An RC rig, mobilised over the weekend, began operations yesterday, marking a big step forward in the company's exploration endeavours targeting gold and base metals.
The initial phase at the Rabbit Well base metals prospect will include the mapping out of mineralisation and geology through a planned 6,000 metres of RC drilling, in preparation for subsequent diamond drilling.
The flexibility of the drilling program allows for a shift in focus to other prospect areas as assay results are received.
Strickland is awaiting the balance of assays from its Marwari site, along with outstanding results from Great Western, Chetak and the remainder of the aircore program completed in late December 2023.
Rig to stay on site
Despite the challenges posed by the wet season, the RC rig will remain operational on-site, with expected intermittent pauses depending on weather conditions.
The company anticipates the start of major drilling campaigns towards the end of the current quarter, as weather conditions are expected to improve significantly.
These campaigns are in the planning stages, with Strickland set to provide updates on its primary drilling activities for 2024 prior to kick-off.
In preparation for the drilling commencement, heritage monitors were on site last week and a large number of drill pads have been cleared.
CEO Andrew Bray said: “After a lot of exploration work in the second half of 2023 (including numerous successes identifying new prospect areas requiring follow-up exploration), the company is very excited to have drilling underway again on site.
Significant targets
“There is a significant list of targets that require RC drilling at both our Yandal and Earaheedy projects, with the current rig expected to start working systematically through these prospects.
“The rig will initially be focused at our large-scale base metal prospect, Rabbit Well, while assays are awaited from the balance of the diamond, RC and aircore drilling from our 2023 programs.
“As assays are progressively received, the company will have the flexibility to redirect the rig to other prospect areas as required.
“A number of prospects identified from the aircore drilling in 2023 may also be followed up by this initial RC drilling prior to the main program getting underway after the wet season.”