Strickland Metals hits monster gold zones at Serbian Shanac project
- James Pearson
- Oct 16
- 3 min read
Another day and it seems, another set of stunning results from Strickland Metals (ASX: STK)’s Rogozna gold and base metal project in Serbia.
This time the company has lit up the boards with a round of thick, gold-rich hits from its Shanac deposit, extending high-grade zones closer to surface and reinforcing the scale of its flagship Rogozna project.
Fresh assays from the latest round of diamond drilling have confirmed up-dip extensions of last year’s standout intercept of 89.7 metres grading 4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold – a hit that helped underpin the company’s 5.3-million-ounce gold-equivalent resource at Shanac.
New results include one hole that intercepted 197.9 metres grading 1.2 grams per tonne gold equivalent from 182.1 metres and featured higher-grade sections of 29m at 2g/t gold equivalent and 12.9m running at 2.3g/t gold equivalent.
A second hole returned 133.8m grading 1.8 grams per tonne gold equivalent from 270.8m depth - dominated by a standout grade of 1.5g/t gold – and including a beefy hit of 88.6m running at 2.2g/t gold equivalent and a one-metre section grading 10.8 grams per tonne gold.
The third hole was equally impressive, delivering 60.9m grading 1.3g/t gold equivalent from 165.8m and 88.8m going 1.1g/t gold equivalent from 261.7m, punctuated with a 1.2 metre slice running at a solid 8.3 grams gold equivalent.
The results show wide, solid zones of gold-rich rock hosted in andesite and skarn, with smaller amounts of silver, lead and zinc.
Notably, the expanded gold-dominant zone is close to the surface, potentially giving Strickland the chance to start mining higher-grade material early in development in a move that could slash costs and fast-track payback.
"Rogozna continues to deliver outstanding results almost every week, highlighting the scale, quality and optionality of the project from a development perspective. Against the backdrop of strong metal prices, this is an exceptional time to be delivering results of this magnitude and quality from our ongoing multi-rig drilling campaign.” Strickland Metals managing director Paul L’Herpiniere
The company’s seven-rig program for 50,000 metres of diamond drilling continues to hum along, with one rig currently testing high-grade zones at Shanac, three finalising resource drilling at Gradina to the south and three others pushing for new discoveries across the broader Rogozna project area.
Strickland’s recent resource upgrade has pushed the Rogozna project’s total inventory to a hefty 7.4 million ounces of gold equivalent. That number is headlined by 5.3 million ounces at 1.1g/t gold equivalent from Shanac, 1.28 million ounces at 1.9g/t gold equivalent from Medenovac and 810,000 ounces at 0.9 g/t gold equivalent from Copper Canyon.
A maiden resource from the company’s impressive Gradina gold only deposit at Rogozna, which is due by years end, could supercharge the overall resource even further.
Strickland’s share price has been on a flier recently, notching up fresh highs on a daily basis to reach 24.5 cents yesterday, up 75 per cent for the month.
Much of the recent share price surge can be traced back to a blockbuster announcement just a week ago, when Strickland unveiled the results of a powerful gravity survey that outlined a whole new pipeline of porphyry targets across Rogozna.
The recent surge in gold and copper prices – the key metals at Rogozna – has no doubt also added fuel to the company’s share price rally.
However, there’s another twist to the story. Strickland’s biggest shareholder, Chinese powerhouse Zijin Mining, which holds a 16.97 per cent stake, has also rocketed 163 per cent since April and is now breathing down BHP’s neck for the title of the world’s most valuable miner.
Strickland remains well-funded, sitting on $52.4 million in cash and liquid assets at the end of June, giving it the firepower to sustain one of the most aggressive drilling campaigns in Europe.
With grades thickening, mineralisation expanding in every direction and rigs turning full-time, Strickland’s Serbian story is fast shaping up as a multi-million-ounce powerhouse in the making. And if the latest intercepts are anything to go by, the gold rush at Rogozna is only just getting started.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: office@bullsnbears.com.au
