Strickland Metals has unveiled an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for its Shanac Deposit in Serbia, now totalling 5.35 million ounces gold equivalent, including a maiden indicated resource of 1.25 million ounces. The resource shows strong grade continuity and remains open for expansion.
- Total Shanac resource grows to 5.35Moz AuEq at 0.60g/t cut-off
- Maiden indicated resource of 1.25Moz AuEq within 30Mt at 1.3g/t AuEq
- Higher-grade zones contain 33Mt at 1.6g/t AuEq for 1.74Moz AuEq
- Deposit remains open to the north with significant exploration upside
- Strickland well-funded with over $90 million cash and placement proceeds
Shanac Resource Milestone Marks Development Step
Strickland Metals Limited (ASX:STK) has delivered a significant update to the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its Shanac Deposit, part of the Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project in Serbia. The total resource now stands at 160 million tonnes grading 1.04 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq), equating to 5.35 million ounces AuEq. Crucially, this includes a maiden indicated resource of 30 million tonnes at 1.30 g/t AuEq, or 1.25 million ounces, marking a key milestone in advancing the project towards development.
The updated estimate incorporates results from the 2025 drilling campaign and uses conservative economic assumptions, including a gold price of US$3,000/oz and an 80% metallurgical recovery. This cautious approach lends robustness to the resource, which exhibits strong grade continuity and an exceptional metal endowment averaging around 15,000 AuEq ounces per vertical metre over a 300-metre vertical extent.
Grade and Scale Highlight Economic Potential
Within the resource, higher-grade mineralisation zones have been delineated, comprising 33 million tonnes at 1.6 g/t AuEq for 1.74 million ounces AuEq at a 1.2 g/t cut-off. These zones are spatially associated with NW-trending quartz diorite dykes and a large quartz diorite intrusion at the deposit’s southern end, which may represent a feeder system.
The deposit extends from just 30 metres below surface to depths of 720 metres, with around 95% of the resource lying between 140 and 600 metres vertical depth. The mineralised envelope covers approximately 920 metres along strike and 710 metres across strike, demonstrating a large-scale, bulk-tonnage style deposit with multiple internal higher-grade zones. This geometry supports underground mining by sub-level caving, with optimal stope shapes designed accordingly.
Exploration Upside and Funding Strength
Significant growth potential remains, particularly to the north of the current resource footprint where historical drilling has intercepted high-grade gold-only mineralisation, including 8 metres at 7.4 g/t Au and 9 metres at 3.0 g/t Au, which have yet to be followed up. Nearby, the Red Creek Prospect also offers promising polymetallic mineralisation, with intercepts such as 53 metres at 2.3 g/t AuEq including higher-grade intervals up to 8.9 g/t AuEq.
Strickland’s Managing Director Paul L’Herpiniere emphasised the deposit’s scale and continuity, noting that the maiden indicated resource “marks an important step in advancing the project along the development pathway.” He highlighted the company’s strong balance sheet, with $38.2 million cash at December 2025 plus $55 million raised in a recent institutional placement, enabling an active 2026 drill campaign focused on resource growth and confidence upgrades.
This funding position aligns with the company’s broader exploration strategy at Rogozna, which recently reported encouraging results at the Obradov Potok base metal prospect, confirming lead-zinc-silver mineralisation consistent with the regional skarn system. The ongoing drilling program aims to expand resources across multiple deposits within the project’s 184 km2 license area, positioning Strickland well for upcoming Pre-Feasibility Studies.
Technical Rigor Underpins Resource Confidence
The updated MRE was developed by Matrix Resource Consultants and constrained by Orelogy Mine Consulting’s optimal stope shapes. It integrates 70 diamond drill holes totalling over 46,000 metres, including 39 holes drilled by Strickland’s Serbian subsidiary Zlatna Reka Resources. The estimation employed multiple indicator kriging for inferred resources and ordinary kriging for indicated blocks, with robust validation and classification criteria in line with the JORC 2012 Code.
Metallurgical testwork suggests recoveries of approximately 80% for gold, copper, silver, lead, and zinc, supporting the use of gold equivalent grades in resource reporting. The deposit’s mineralisation is hosted within skarn alteration zones formed by multiphase hydrothermal activity related to Oligocene-Miocene magmatism, with strong stratigraphic controls and structural features such as a north-plunging anticline influencing grade distribution.
Strickland’s approach to resource growth and confidence is underscored by its careful integration of historical data from previous explorers Euromax, Eldorado, and South Danube, alongside its own drilling. The company plans to recommence drilling imminently, targeting both resource infill and expansion, particularly at Shanac and Gradina deposits.
Bottom Line?
Strickland’s maiden indicated resource at Shanac and strong funding set the stage for further growth and project advancement in 2026.
Questions in the middle?
- How will upcoming drilling campaigns impact the conversion of inferred to indicated resources?
- What metallurgical recovery improvements could materially affect project economics?
- To what extent can the northern extensions and Red Creek Prospect add to the Rogozna resource base?