Strickland Metals (ASX: STK) has pulled off another strong resource upgrade of 670,000 gold equivalent ounces at its Serbian Rogozna gold and base metals project in a blockbuster update to its flagship Shanac deposit.
The uplift now takes Rogozna’s global resource to 7.4 million ounces - an increase of 2m ounces since Strickland took on the project nine months ago. The new ounces haven’t cost the earth, coming in at a discovery rate of $3 per ounce.
Shanac now hosts 150 million tonnes of ore for 5.3m gold equivalent ounces grading 1.1 grams per tonne (g/t). Contributing to the boost, contained gold has been amped up by 17 per cent, contained copper is up 38 per cent and zinc stocks have increased by 40 per cent.
The resource also includes a higher-grade core of 32mt for 1.85m gold equivalent ounces running at 1.8g/t, which translates into a 15,000-gold equivalent-ounce resource per vertical metre running 300m in depth.
According to management, this impressive enrichment could be accessed from a near-horizontal point on a neighbouring ridge immediately to the east of the project, giving the miner the perfect launching pad for underground development.
Strickland credits the success of its 2024 drilling campaign to a smart, advanced modelling method, called Multiple Indicator Kriging. The technique has helped improve the company’s understanding of the project geology by making its model more accurate.
The discovery of a central quartz diorite dyke as a key geological control was a central finding. The structure appears to attract multiple high-grade mineralised sections between 5 metres and 50m wide either side of the formation. It confirmed better continuation of mineralisation than previously thought.
Armed with this new knowledge, Strickland now plans to bring in a diamond rig to drill out the northern section of Shanac. Earlier hits there of 8m at 7.4g/t gold from 327.5m and 9m running 3g/t gold from 415m offered a tantalising glimpse of the treasures that may lay beneath.
The goal for Shanac in 2025 is to continue to improve the definition of the higher-grade mineralisation zones which underpin the ~15,000 ounces per vertical metre contained within the core of the deposit.
Strickland Metals Managing Director Paul L’Herpiniere
As Strickland moves into the second quarter of the year, the company has a busy schedule. It has kicked off a repeat of its 2024 exploration program with a similarly sized 50,000m diamond drilling campaign across the broader Rogozna project area.
The company is also due to update the resource shortly at its Medenovac prospect, which currently contains 1.28m gold equivalent ounces.
Additionally, Strickland will soon release a maiden resource statement on the Gradina prospect, which has the potential to lift more than a few eyebrows.
After picking up massive hits last year, including 48.5m grading 3.1g/t gold from 194m and 67.5m running at 2.7g/t gold from 476m, the company believes the mostly gold Gradina prospect now stretches across a 1000m strike and down to 900m in depth.
Adding to its promising Serbian endeavours, Strickland is pushing full steam ahead on plans to increase its gold inventory at the company’s 257,000-ounce Horse Well camp in Western Australia’s northeastern Goldfields.
Positioned within Strickland’s broader Yandal gold project, the Horse Well gold camp spans 70 square kilometres of prospective greenstone rock along the Celia shear zone. It is 50km north of Northern Star Resources’ huge 10m-ounce Jundee gold project.
Recent metallurgical testing on its key Palomino deposit notched up an impressive 88.6 per cent recovery rate, while a ground gravity survey has kicked off across its massive 7.5km intrusion-related gold target at the company’s 108,900-ounce Dusk ‘til Dawn prospect.
An extensive drilling campaign was completed at site last year, targeting high-value ounces from shallow oxide material at the Palomino and Warmblood deposits, which are considered suitable for open pit mining.
Several other advanced targets including Bronco, Konik and Marwari were also hit up with the drill bit to improve the company’s understanding of and confidence in Horse Well’s mineralisation, as it moves towards releasing a much-anticipated resource update.
Strickland has a hefty $33.8m in cash and Northern Star shares on hand as of the December quarter, which is more than enough fuel to power its bold exploration plans. The cashed-up company is ready to roll.
As the price of the yellow metal toys with all-time highs and inches towards the $5000 per ounce mark, Strickland appears to have timed its gold-related announcements to perfection. Punters are likely to be laser-focused on any news flow that could firmly place the company on the map as a significant player in the resources landscape.
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