Ripping through Shanac deposit on Rogozna – New massive veins and slice with as much as 16.5 grams per ton gold equivalent detected

Australia’s Strickland Metals, which has been searching for gold and other valuable minerals for over a year near Novi Pazar, has announced that it has landed another pair of cracking drill hits, with two deep diamond holes cutting through hundreds of meters of strong gold-copper mineralization at its 5.3 million ounce gold-equivalent Shanac deposit in Serbia.

The latest hits at Shanac - one of four deposits at the company’s 7.4-million-ounce gold-equivalent Rogozna project - throw even more fuel on a story the company says is rapidly outgrowing early expectations, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Standout hits from the first hole included a punchy 48.7 meters grading 3.1 grams per ton (g/t) within a huge 224-meter intersection grading 1.9 g/t gold equivalent from 387.5 m. That same hole then doubled down with another 113.9 meters going at 1.8 g/t gold equivalent from 497.7 meters, highlighted by a 36-metre internal grading 2.5 g/t gold equivalent and a 12-meter sweet spot going at 3.8 g/t gold equivalent.

The equally impressive neighboring hole kept the momentum flowing, as reported by the Australian media outlet, kicking off with 62.1 meters grading 1 g/t before lighting up with 173.7 meters going at 1.8 g/t gold equivalent from 462.9 meters. Within that wider section the drill bit picked up a higher grade zone of 42.1 meters running at 2.9 g/t gold equivalent, capped by an exceptionally rich 1.9-meter slice grading 16.5 g/t gold equivalent.

The new holes were plunged straight into the middle of Shanac’s central deposit, right where earlier drilling had sniffed out strong signs of a higher-grade copper-gold zone in the skarn units that sit parallel to the quartz monzonite dykes.

Notably, Strickland says mineralization is still open in every direction. The high-grade copper-gold zone first flagged in August - where drilling uncorked 21.6 m at 3.7 g/t gold equivalent from 473.5 m, including a ripping 5.7 m at 9.7 g/t - is now shaping up as far larger than all the early indications suggested. Better still, the zone is proving more consistent with every meter drilled, the Sydney Morning Herald writes.

Geologically, the story is beginning to firm up. Near the top of the holes, Shanac shows the classic skarn mix of gold, lead and zinc, with green garnet rock cut by sulfide veins. As drilling gets deeper, the system shifts into a more copper-rich zone, marked by magnetite and thick bands of chalcopyrite and pyrite that host the stronger grades. That two-part pattern is a hallmark of long-running, high-quality skarn deposits around the world.

According to management, the latest hits sharpen the case for a hybrid mining setup, blending wide bulk-tonnage gold zones with tighter, high-grade shoots - a combination that gives Shanac far more flexibility in how it could ultimately be mined.

In total seven rigs are ripping through meters across Rogozna, with three of them tightening up the gap zone at the nearby Gradina deposit as Strickland barrels its way toward a maiden resource before year’s end.

Let us remind that, just ten days ago, the Australian company announced that it had discovered a 702.5-meter belt of continuous gold and zinc mineralization at the Gradina deposit.

Strickland announced an expanded resource assessment at Rogozna early next year.

B. P.

Strickland Metals

Strickland Metals

Rogozna

Šanac deposit

gold explorations