Strickland Metals has reeled in another mammoth hit from the Shanac deposit within its 100 per cent-owned Rogozna gold-base metals project in Serbia, this time unveiling 308.4m grading 1.9 grams per tonne gold equivalent.
The spectacular intercept, which includes internal waste, follows up an 89.7m hit running at 4g/t that was drilled at an opposing angle on the same deposit. as revealed by management just a fortnight ago.
The company’s latest diamond drillhole targeted the Central Domain of the Shanac deposit and intersected multiple high-grade zones within the broader mineralised interval. Highlights from the hole revealed a 90.9m interval at 2.3g/t gold equivalent including a 26m section at 3g/t, a 61.3m slice running at 3.5g/t with a notable 6m section grading 10.4g/t, and a 47.1m interval at 1.6g/t including 6m at 3.2g/t.
Strickland says it has identified three distinct zones of mineralisation within the hole.
The upper Zone 1 copper-gold mineralisation is hosted within a magnetite skarn – an area typically in contact with a limestone dolomite – and has produced extensive disseminated and semi-massive chalcopyrite. The middle gold-zinc-lead-silver Zone 2 mineralisation is hosted within hydrothermal breccias and shows up as massive sphalerite and galena, while the lower Zone 3 appears to be a repeat of the upper zone.
As a result of the scissor drilling technique used on the deposit, the latest results, when correlated with the previous set of numbers, have given the company a far-greater understanding of the geological controls on the Central Domain, including a newly-identified high-grade gold zone that has provided a focused target to follow-up on with imminent drilling. To that end, Strickland has started a downhole depth extension of the 89m hit reported earlier this month.
Strickland Metals managing director Paul L'Herpiniere said: “These latest results from ongoing drilling at the 4.6Moz Au Eq Shanac deposit provide further support of our strategy to target the higher-grade mineralisation zones within the Central Domain of the deposit. With a 90.9m intercept of copper-gold mineralisation grading 1.4g/t Au and 0.3% Cu from 333.7m downhole, the copper-gold-magnetite skarn is demonstrating excellent consistency of grade and thickness at the southern end of the deposit.”
L’Herpiniere says the mineralisation is hosted within hydrothermal breccia adjacent to the mineralisation-controlling central dyke at depth.
The company has now completed and reported four drill holes at its Shanac deposit as part of a 60,000m drilling program within the wider Rogozna project. While three rigs have been focused on extending and upgrading the resource at Shanac, with Copper Canyon next, it is also looking to define a maiden resource at Medenovac and Gradina.
A fourth rig is also now pursuing new deposits, including recent drilling at the Veleiki copper-gold porphyry target.
The Rogozna project stands out with impressive qualifications. To date, more than $60 million has been tilled into exploration and technical work at the site, resulting in a JORC-compliant inferred resource of 2.96 million ounces of gold, 200,000 tonnes of copper and 360,000 tonnes of contained zinc.
With six rigs actively drilling across its projects in Serbia and Western Australia and the substantial financial backing of $48.7 million in the bank, Strickland appears well-positioned to continue its aggressive exploration strategy.
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By James Pearson
