Strickland Metals may be on the cusp of a massive porphyry discovery after its diamond drill rig hit a whopping 493-metre intercept grading 0.14 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 223m at its Jezerska Reka prospect, which is part of the company’s Rogozna gold and base metals project in Serbia.
The assays from the new hole also show a 412m section running at grades of 130 parts per million (ppm) copper from a depth of 300m and ending in gold and copper mineralisation at 700m depth.
Initial geochemical testing of the target was conducted in 2023 and was followed up with a geophysical survey that lit up a sizeable, mineralised zone, hinting at the possibility of something big.
The results from the new hole were correlated with a previous diamond hole, which was also drilled at the time of the geophysical survey. The earlier hole intersected 94m of high-grade gold at 0.4g/t from 484m, ending in 0.17g/t gold mineralisation at a depth of 716m.
The latest 700m drill hole was positioned several hundred metres east of the 2023 hole. It picked up the same extensive porphyry-style veining and alteration as the initial hole, indicating significant potential for a large-scale system.
Strickland Metals managing director Paul L'Herpiniere said: “To intercept almost 500 metres of porphyry-related veining and associated alteration in just the second hole drilled at Jezerska Reka is a highly encouraging development. The potential for a large-scale porphyry discovery at Rogozna adds to the already substantial potential of what is a very large gold and base metals project with an already globally significant – and growing – resource inventory.”
Strickland hired porphyry expert David Cooke to help it get to grips with the relatively new style of mineralisation for the project area.
Dr Cooke’s independent technical review discovered gold mineralisation extends over several hundred metres at the prospect.
By combining this finding with biotite-pyrite alteration found in the lower section of the new hole - drilled parallel to the hotspot - Dr Cooke suspects the area sits on the outer edge of a massive porphyry gold-copper system.
The earlier hole was drilled at an opposing angle and appears to have jagged part of the anomaly. In comparison, the new hole intersected fewer B-type and D-type hydrothermal veins, which are common in porphyry deposits.
The higher amount of pyrite and lower levels of chalcopyrite suggest the new hole is moving away from the core of the mineralisation. However, it still encountered biotite and some white mica alteration all the way to the bottom.
Management says porphyry systems such as Jezerska Reka often require several phases of drilling to zone in on a mineralised centre. With the results of the latest assays in hand, the company now has a clearer understanding of where to aim the drill bit in the next round of exploration.
The next diamond drilling exploration campaign is set to begin in early April. New drill holes will target a low-resistivity anomaly further west of the latest drill hole, where the company believes the core of the anomaly may lie.
Strickland identified another equally intriguing geochemical target 500m to the north of the Jezerska Reka prospect – dubbed Jezerska North. It will undergo a similar geophysical survey to the Jezerska Reka prospect before being included as a target of future drill campaigns.
Jezerska Reka is part of the company’s wider Rogozna gold and base metals project in Serbia currently hosting 6.69 million ounces of gold equivalent spread across four deposits.
Strickland has also been busy over the Australian summer pushing exploration metres into its promising 257,000-ounce Yandal gold project, which is 50 kilometres from Northern Star Resources’ 10-million-ounce Jundee gold project in WA’s northeastern goldfields.
Yandal has several large-scale prospects including Horse Well, which is shortly due for an updated resource estimate.
Strickland is already emerging as a standout player in the gold and base metals exploration space. Given its current trajectory, with Jezerska Reka brewing to become a significant addition to its global inventory, the company appears to be gathering all the right ingredients to become a world-class miner.
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By James Pearson
