Strickland stretches Serbian gold system past resource boundary
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Rowena Duckworth
Strickland Metals has again demonstrated the scale and consistency of its Rogozna gold and base metals project in Serbia, achieving strong drilling results that continue to extend mineralization well beyond the company’s existing 1.2 Moz gold resource at the Gradina skarn deposit.
The latest analysis came from diamond drilling completed late last year and focused on the “Gap Zone”, the region separating the northern and southern parts of the Gradina system.
The company says the results from this region are particularly important, as numerous large, high-grade intersections confirm that mineralization connectivity is much better than previously understood.
Notable hits include a 68.7m diamond drill hole operating 1.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 368.2m, including two high-grade zones grading 24.0m at 2.7g/t gold and a solid 12.0m grading 4.3g/t gold. Another drill hole was fitted with an impressive 84.4m section which returned 1.5g/t gold from 499.6m; This included testing 8.0m of gold at 5.2g/t.
‘The drilling completed following the Gradina MRE confirmed our view of the growth potential of the deposit.’
Strickland Metals managing director Paul L’Herpiniere
Additional strong impacts were recorded throughout the Gap Region; this further strengthened the solid geometry of the Gradina deposit; Large areas of gold mineralization hosted by the skarns remained open in all directions, including sloping towards the surface.
Drilling in particular has now connected once separate areas, increasing confidence that the existing resource has plenty of room to expand.
Strickland took the reins of Rogozna in July last year after completing the A$54 million (€31.8 million) acquisition of Betoota Holdings. Located in southern Serbia, 400 km south of Belgrade, this region lies within the Tethyan Metallogenic Belt, a world-class geological region known for hosting massive porphyry and skarn deposits.
Strickland’s four licenses in the area cover just 184 square kilometers and include the Copper Canyon, Shanac, Medenovac and Gradina deposits. The project currently has global mineral resources of approximately 8.6 million ounces of gold equivalent across four deposits.
Gradina itself has emerged as a key asset following the release of a 1.2 million ounce maiden resource grading 3.0 g/t gold last year, positioning it as a likely early contributor to any future development scenario.
Strickland Metals managing director Paul L’Herpiniere said: “Drilling completed following the Gradina MRE confirmed our view of the growth potential of the deposit, with a number of significant results recorded in the ‘Gap Zone’ between the northern and southern parts..”
Gold and base metal mineralization spans an impressive strike length of over one kilometer. It is housed in a garnet-skarn envelope at the edges of quartz-diorite dykes, a classic contact metamorphic gold-bearing halo system.
Importantly, mineralization geometry is controlled by layering within the carbonate-skarn sequence; The deeper regions tend to be subvertical, with the upper reaches steeply to moderately sloping towards the southwest. This orientation is well suited for potential long-hole open interception methods.
The company is currently planning the next phase of drilling in the Gap Zone and other prioritized areas.
With mineralization still open, rigs returning and gold prices at historically strong levels, Strickland’s Rogozna project is shaping up as a fast-growing European gold system that continues to deliver exactly what the market wants to see: size, grade and momentum.
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