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Highlights
- Strickland Metals initiates phase two metallurgical testing for Shanac Gold Deposit.
- The phase aims to optimize gold and copper recoveries and validate flowsheet design.
- Ongoing drilling at Rogozna expected to yield additional exploration results soon.
Strickland Metals Ltd (ASX:STK) has commenced the second phase of metallurgical testing on bulk sample material from its Shanac Gold Deposit, a significant component of the Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project in Serbia. This phase of testing builds on previous efforts, which achieved gold recoveries of 85.9% and copper recoveries of 81% using standard flotation processes. With this new phase, Strickland aims to enhance overall recovery rates and finalize the flowsheet design, a crucial step in evaluating the deposit's economic viability.
The Shanac deposit boasts a mineral resource estimate of 4.6 million ounces of gold, a promising foundation for further development. Strickland Metals has deployed four drilling rigs at the Rogozna site, conducting extensive drilling to obtain new samples and insights. The company anticipates releasing results from several drill holes in the near future, adding to the momentum of ongoing operations at Rogozna.
Polymetallic deposits like Shanac present unique challenges, particularly in terms of metal recovery and processing economics. However, Strickland’s previous metallurgical tests in 2021 delivered strong results, with high recovery rates for both gold and copper. According to Strickland Metals Managing Director Paul L’Herpiniere, deposits within the Rogozna region share similarities with other well-known polymetallic deposits in the Western Tethyan Belt. These include notable projects such as the Trepca zinc-lead-silver deposit near Rogozna and the Rupice silver-zinc-lead-gold-copper deposit in Bosnia and Herzegovina, developed by Adriatic Metals.
The region’s long mining history demonstrates that industry-standard flotation techniques are effective for processing similar deposits, providing confidence in Strickland's approach to the Rogozna project. Currently, four rigs are drilling continuously at Rogozna, with the team eager to build on the successful results from their first drilling program under Strickland’s management.
Among the areas of particular interest is the Kotlovi prospect, located approximately 400 meters southwest of the Medenovac prospect. Recent drilling at Medenovac yielded notable results, including intercepts of 43.4 meters at 4.6 g/t gold equivalent from a depth of 357.2 meters and 50 meters at 5.6 g/t gold equivalent from 271.5 meters. Strickland has already started the sample selection process at Medenovac, with plans to send samples to the laboratory within the coming weeks.
As Strickland Metals advances its exploration and testing activities at Rogozna, the ongoing developments and future drill results could shape the project's trajectory in Serbia’s mining sector.
