Strickland Metals Ltd (ASX:STK) is stepping up the pace at the 100%-owned Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project in Serbia with a fourth diamond drilling rig dedicated to discovery-focused drilling of an extensive exploration target pipeline.
The fourth diamond rig has started drilling at the recently acquired project and joins three other rigs at Rogozna as part of Strickland’s aggressive exploration campaign.
This rig will focus on several compelling copper-gold porphyry targets with the first hole at Copper Canyon South, where limited previous drilling encountered thick, high-grade gold mineralisation at depth, including 38 metres at 3.7 g/t gold from 760 metres.
The hole is designed to test for an up-dip extension of the mineralisation, which if successful will demonstrate the mineralisation at a much-shallower position.
Increasing the pace
Strickland's managing director Paul L’Herpiniere said: “With the completion of the transformational Rogozna Project acquisition on July 1, the team is excited to increase the pace at which we develop our high-quality strategic assets.
"The arrival of a fourth rig at Rogozna expands an exciting, discovery-focused drilling phase that will test multiple compelling targets across the project, including several targets that exhibit technical characteristics for significant potential for copper-gold porphyry mineralisation.
"Whilst the fourth rig will concentrate on making our next discovery, three rigs continue the extensional and infill drilling at the Shanac and Medenovac deposits, with first assays expected from the Shanac drilling in early August.”
Rogozna Project location.
Veleiki prospect next
Following completion of the hole at Copper Canyon South, the new rig will move to the Veleiki Prospect, a conceptual target for copper-gold porphyry mineralisation.
Veleiki is characterised by the following key technical criteria:
- The strongest molybdenum in soil response at the project, with coincident gold, copper, bismuth and arsenic anomalism;
- Extensive advanced Argillic alteration at surface;
- Strongly anomalous geophysical responses, including IP Chargeability, Resistivity and Remanent Magnetism (REM); and
- Favourable geological setting, at the intersection of major NW and NE-trending faults.
Six rigs in action
With the exploration phase of drilling underway, the company has three drill rigs focused on systematic resource drilling at the Shanac and Medenovac deposits.
The aim of this work is to grow the mineral resources and improve the definition of higher-grade mineralisation zones.
Strickland has completed the first hole at Shanac and the second hole should be completed within the week, with initial assay results expected in early August.
The four rigs at Rogozna take the company’s total drilling rigs in operation across Serbia and at the Yandal Project in Western Australia to six.