Strickland Metals adds eighth rig to high-grade gold blitz in Serbia
- Bill McConnell
- Jul 7
- 3 min read
Strickland Metals (ASX: STK) has thrown another rig into the fray at its mammoth 7.4-million-ounce gold-equivalent Rogozna project in Serbia. The company has mobilised an eighth diamond drill rig to its Shanac deposit to ramp up what is already the company’s largest exploration campaign.
The rig has just been swung into action to drill a higher-grade central domain of the project’s flagship deposit. Strickland stunned the market last year with a spectacular hit of 89.7m grading 4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at Shanac, including a blistering 24.1m at 10.5g/t gold.
The eighth rig is specifically targeting strike extensions to a high-grade zone discovered at Shanac late last year. The extensions are considered crucial for upcoming mine planning and optimisation studies.
The company has this year drilled more than 50,000m of diamond core at Rogozna and has assays pending from multiple completed holes across its Gradina, Shanac and Kotlovi prospects.
Exploration at Rogozna is in full flight as we aim to deliver multiple resource upgrades and additional discoveries.
Strickland Metals Managing Director Paul L’Herpiniere
Earlier intercepts at Shanac this year dramatically expanded the known high-grade mineralised zones. These included standouts such as 244.4m grading 1.3g/t gold equivalent from 342.3m downhole, with a thicker high-grade interval of 82.7m at 2.0g/t gold-equivalent, and 132.9m at 1.4g/t gold equivalent from 362.2m, featuring a juicy 32.7m hit at 2.2g/t gold equivalent.
Strickland has delivered strong intercepts with impressive grades and scale at Gradina, including 62.7m grading 3.5g/t gold from 386m, punctuated by a stellar 27.8m at 6.3g/t gold.
L’Herpiniere said the “exceptional” hits were indicative of Gradina’s potential to add high-grade ounces to the Rogozna resource inventory by late 2025.
Strickland’s relentless pace has seen the company move from six active rigs earlier in the year to seven rigs by June, and now eight, as it aims to fast-track resource growth across Rogozna’s sprawling deposits.
The company’s strategic priority remains clear: build critical mass at Rogozna to underpin a globally significant gold-base metals development. It has been helped by a war chest of about $34.8 million in cash and liquid assets at the end of March, boosted by a $5 million strategic investment from Chinese giant Zijin Mining.
Rogozna is the company’s primary focus following its recent agreement to sell its Yandal gold project in Western Australia for $45 million in Gateway Mining equity.
At Gradina, five rigs are drilling to define what could become a cornerstone high-grade deposit. Gradina’s mineralised lodes now extend across more than 1000m of strike and 900m vertical extent and remain wide open. Recent drilling has confirmed strong up-dip continuity of mineralisation towards surface.
At Shanac, which has a 5.4-million-ounce gold equivalent resource, the eighth rig’s target zone is expected to deliver critical information about lateral and vertical extensions of last year’s remarkable high-grade hits, which are essential for planned resource updates and mine design.
Strickland’s intensified campaign comes on the back of updated resource estimates this year, including a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Medenovac deposit.
Medenovac delivered 1.28 million gold-equivalent ounces on top of a significant 0.7-million-ounce gold-equivalent boost to the Shanac resource, taking Rogozna’s total to a hefty 7.4-million gold-equivalent ounces.
With drill bits on all eight rigs spinning and several assays pending, Strickland anticipates a steady stream of news flow through the second half of 2025. Management believes the cumulative results could cement Rogozna’s position as one of Europe’s largest undeveloped gold-base metal systems and as a potential tier-one asset.
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