Australians looking for gold 100 km from Belgrade – Company buys drilling rights on 62,000 hectares in Serbia, starting with Bobija

Serbia continues to intrigue foreign mining companies; it seems they are racing to see who will be the first to stick a pickaxe in the search for Serbian precious metals. The latest example is the Australian Middle Island Resources, which, by taking over the company Konstantin Resources, also from Australia, became the owner of no less than 14 licenses for mineral exploration in Serbia, on as much as 62,000 hectares, which is more than any other company has in our country.

The tenements comprise three main project areas - Bobija, Priboj, and Timok - which are considered primarily for gold and copper, as well as silver, lead, and zinc, as reported by Australia’s Mining.

The Bobija project, on which the new owner will focus first, spans 208 square kilometers in central-western Serbia, about 100 km southwest of Belgrade.

It includes three granted exploration licenses - Bobija, Bobija East and Kamenita Kosa - an application for Orovica and a 10-year option on two mining licenses from local firm Bobija doo Ljubovija.

Gold literally peeking out from former baryte mine

As Australian media report, Middle Island Resources has already begun field exploration, precisely at the Bobija project. This is the Bobija mountain near Ljubovija, where a baryte mine used to exist before, and the Australian company will seek gold and other valuable metals precisely there.



Historic drilling from the 1960s to 1980s, and later work by Reservoir Minerals and Nevsun Resources in 2014-2017, intersected significant near-surface polymetallic mineralization in Triassic sediments, Australia’s Business News writes.

One hole returned 45.2 meters at 1.71 grams per ton (g/t) gold, 25.5 g/t silver, 0.87 per cent lead and 2.26 per cent zinc from 18.8 m depth. A second hole assayed 15.1 m at 1.91 g/t gold, 122 g/t silver, 4.23 per cent lead and 4.73 per cent zinc from 38.9 m.

– Recent work by Konstantin has revealed significant gold associated with the base metal mineralization historically targeted in the area – said Middle Island Resources non-executive director Daniel Raihani.

Extensive massive sulfide mineralization is exposed in the floor of the historic open-pit mine and limited prior rock chip sampling by Konstantin (previously West End Resources) has highlighted high-grade potential, with results up to 5.24 g/t gold, 120 g/t silver, 4.66 per cent zinc and 4.36 per cent lead.

Middle Island says that the site shares similarities with Adriatic Metals’ Vares project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a high-grade polymetallic deposit estimated to contain 20.9 million tons of ore.

Soil sampling is underway across the broader Bobija granted tenement area to follow up on 2024 stream sediment anomalies in gold and base metals, targeting historic workings where multiple baryte and sulfide sites were noted in government-era reports, including the Tisovik lead mine and Rebelj copper mine, reports Business News.

What do we know about Middle Island Resources?

Middle Island Resources is not a major player in the global mining market, but with an exploration area in Australia covering 860,000 hectares, and with the potential for copper and gold discoveries in Serbia, along with, as Business News reports, “modern Serbian mining legislation and developed infrastructure, the company is in a position to make a breakthrough in this fertile mining region.”

The company announced on September 2 that it was acquiring Konstantin Resources Limited for AUD 9.5 million, paid for through 475 million of its shares, but the transaction requires shareholder approval, which is expected in late October or early November.

The acquisition is said to be part of Middle Island’s strategy to transform itself into a global copper and gold explorer, and is supported by a parallel share issue worth AUD 3.4 million to fund exploration.

The potential in Serbia has excited traders and investors who invest in companies listed on the Australian national stock exchange ASX (and Middle Island is among them), so one of them, Bhavdip Sanghavi, stated on his X account that this acquisition is a “game changer in one of the most promising mining belts in the world.”

– Bobija shows all the characteristics of a discovery that can change a company. This is exactly how Adriatic Metals (which started as a small company and recently sold the mines in Vares to the Canadian company Dundee for USD 1.25 billion), created enormous value in the Balkans. Middle Island Resources could be next – believes this investor.

B. P.

Bobija doo Ljubovija

Middle Island Resources

Konstantin Resources

West End Resources

Bobija doo Ljubovija

Bobija

Bobija Istok

Kamenita Kosa

Daniel Raihani

Bhavdip Sanghavi

gold

baryte mine Bobija

acquisition

mining

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