Strickland continues Balkan gold hunt at Gradina prospect

10,000m diamond drilling campaign commenced at the Gradina prospect
A completed access track allows Strickland Metals to test shallower zones for the first time
Four drill rigs are spinning across Rogozna ahead of a mineral resource update

Special Report: Strickland Metals has moved drill rigs to the Gradina prospect at Rogozna for a 10,000m diamond drill program as it looks to emulate recent successes at Medenovac – both of which are outside the project’s now 5.4Moz gold equivalent resource.

A recently completed access track has now allowed Strickland Metals (ASX:STK) the ability to drill-test shallower zones of gold and zinc mineralisation for the first time.

Gold has already been found at Gradina over ~1km of strike, at vertical depths of ~200-1000m below surface, with ~21,000m of previous drilling returning significant intercepts that included:

27.5m at 5.1g/t gold from 439.8m at hole ZRSD20124
32m at 6.8g/t from 595m at hole EOKSC1361b; and
22m at 4g/t from 691m (ZRSD21143).

STK says, based on geophysical and geochemical datasets, the thick high-grade gold mineralisation is projected to extend to near-surface, potentially representing the shallowest deposit at Rogozna alongside the outcropping Copper Canyon area.

The company has high hopes that the high-priority Gradina is a target for the delineation of a significant initial resource estimate in the near term.

The Gradina prospect at Rogozna. Pic: STK

According to STK MD Paul L’Herpiniere, the new program at Gradina will provide a very exciting opportunity to follow up significant widths of high-grade gold mineralisation previously encountered at depth.

“Having constructed a new access track over recent months, we can now drill-test the Gradina system close to surface for the first time in the project’s history,” L’Herpiniere said.

“All available datasets indicate that the steeply dipping mineralised lodes encountered in previous drilling extend up-dip towards surface.

“If we are successful in drilling similar widths and tenor of mineralisation near-surface, we expect that this high-priority target will rapidly take shape and make a considerable contribution to the growth of the Rogozna resource inventory over the next 12 months.”

Four drill rigs are currently operating across Rogozna, with assay results pending multiple holes.

Rogozna so far…

It seems STK is becoming quite the expert gold hunter after success at its Horse Well project in WA and now the likely expansion of its newly acquired Rogozna gold project in Serbia.

Confidence is understandably high within the Strickland camp after the recent spectacular drill hit at Medenovac of 365.8m at 2g/t AuEq from 198.4m, which averaged out at 728 gram-metres on a gold equivalent basis.

Medenovac now has a mineralised strike-length of ~150m with the high-grade core extending 60m along strike to the south-east where an historical drill hole struck 97.7m at 5.1g/t AuEq within a broader zone of 352.1m at 2.1g/t AuEq from 240.2m.

A maiden mineral resource for the prospect is due out early next year, building on the 2.96Moz of gold, 214,000t of copper and 364,000t of zinc already contained within the project, mainly within the Shanac prospect.

STK remains extremely well-funded, with $48.7m in cash and Northern Star Resources shares as at the end of the June quarter.

This article was developed in collaboration with Strickland Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.