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By Team Ace Investors

Company Overview

Strickland Metals Limited is an ASX-listed mineral exploration company. Strickland aims to deliver superior shareholder returns through the discovery of "world-class" mineralized systems. The Company is focused on Gold and Copper, both of which are in high demand. The Company’s key projects are the Yandal East Project, the Iroquois Project, and the Bryah Basin Project.

The Yandal East Project is located in the Warburton Mineral Field, Western Australia. The company’s Yandal East Project indicates a very substantial gold system spanning the Celia Shear Zone, including a current resource base comprised of Horse Well (Palomino, Warmblood, Filly Central, Filly South) and Dusk 'Til Dawn, and advanced exploration targets at Cowza, Mizina and Ward. The Company aims to upgrade the high-grade Mineral Resource Base within the Yandal Gold Project and explore short-term development opportunities with the current gold prices to support trucking and toll milling, or stand-alone mining operations. Future resource development will focus on the Horse Well Region, upgrading current deposits and adding new prospects to the resource base.
The Iroquois Project (80% Strickland; 20% Gibb River Diamonds Ltd (ASX: GIB)) is located directly along the strike from Rumble Resources Limited's (ASX: RTR) Earaheedy Project Chinook zinc-lead discovery. Strickland has discovered multiple styles of mineralization at the Iroquois Project including (i) Early strata-bound low-temperature MVT-style Zn-Pb mineralization; (ii) Overprinting high-temperature carbonate-replacement (CRD) and skarn polymetallic mineralization in surrounding 'feeder' structures. Drilling to date has indicated strong continuity of both MVT-style and CRD/skarn mineralization, highlighting a substantial mineralized zone that requires further drilling along the strike. The shallow nature of the mineralization intersected to date indicates that it could potentially be amenable to open-cut mining scenarios.
The Bryah Basin project lies within the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, approximately 90 kilometres north of Meekatharra. The Bryah Basin Project lies at the centre of the basin and is prospective for copper-gold mineralization akin to that at Sandfire’s DeGrussa Project. The Company plans to refine the key targets after a full compilation of historical data and a thorough interpretation of the known anomalous copper and gold prospect areas. Acquisition of geophysical datasets across the Bryah Basin Project is underway. The area will also be assessed for nickel potential, given the region's productivity and the identification of ortho cumulates and komatiites in drilling proximal to the Academus Prospect. Follow-up works on priority targets will then commence including; field mapping, infill soil sampling, and air-core drilling. Identified targets will then be considered for targeted deeper drilling.

Investment Rationale

Executed a binding share sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 100% interest in Rogozna

During FY24, Strickland executed a binding share sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with ISIHC Ltd (a subsidiary of Ibaera Capital Fund LP) for the acquisition of all of the issued capital of Betoota Holdings Ltd (Betoota), which via its wholly owned subsidiary Zlatna Reka Resources d.o.o (ZRR), owns 100% of the Rogozna Project (Project) in the Republic of Serbia (Acquisition). Rogozna is a large-scale magmatic-hydrothermal system that hosts a skarn-based Au-Cu (+/- Zn, Ag, and Pb) mineralized system and comprises four key prospects: (a) Shanac; (b) Copper Canyon; (c) Medenovac; and (d) Gradina. The Project contains an Inferred Mineral Resource totalling 5.44 Million ounces of gold equivalent (2.99 Million ounces of gold, 214 kilotonnes of copper, and 364 kilotonnes of zinc) with additional significant exploration potential. The company completed the acquisition on 1 July 2024. Strickland has commenced a comprehensive drilling campaign at the Project. The proposed 60,000-metre diamond drilling plan to end calendar 2025 has been designed to deliver a substantial increase to the current 5.4Moz Au Eq Mineral Resource base. Approximately 35,000 meters of resource definition drilling will be focused on the Shanac and Copper Canyon deposits (both with existing Mineral Resources), as well as Medenovac and Gradina, where the Company is aiming to deliver maiden Mineral Resource estimates in 2025. The 2024/25 campaign also includes approximately 25,000 meters of discovery-focused drilling dedicated to testing the extensive pipeline of exploration targets that exist across the project area. The exploration targets fall within several categories, including:

Target areas with significant mineralized drill intercepts from previous drilling – Copper Canyon South, Cesme, Jezerska Reka;
Targets occurring in proximity to existing deposits with limited or no previous drilling – Kotlovi, Red Creek;
Recently defined target areas with no previous drilling – Obradov Potok; and
Porphyry copper-gold targets – strong geophysical anomalies with associated pathfinder geochemical anomalism.

Announced significant new gold discoveries at Rogozna

During the Sep 24Q, the company commenced resource expansion and exploration drilling at its Rogozna Project in Serbia with a 60,000-meter diamond drilling campaign to be undertaken through to late 2025. The first hole drilled by Strickland at Shanac has returned a spectacular gold-only intercept of 89.7m @ 4.0g/t Au from 244.5m (ZRSD24149), including 24.1m @ 10.5g/t Au from 296.2m. The second diamond drill hole at Shanac has returned a massive intercept (including internal waste) of 308.4m @ 0.7g/t Au, 0.2% Cu, 1.0% Zn, 0.5% Pb and 6.6g/t Ag (1.9g/t Au Eq) from 299.4m (ZRSD24150). On 11 Nov 2024, the company announced a significant new body of gold and base metal mineralization during scout exploration drilling outside the known resources and deposits at its 100%-owned ~5.44Moz AuEq Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project in Serbia. The Company's maiden diamond drilling program at the Kotlovi Prospect has returned exciting assay results from two scout holes, confirming a significant discovery. Kotlovi is located just 350m west of the Medenovac Prospect, one of four large-scale skarn-hosted gold and base metals deposits defined to date at Rogozna. The mineralization encountered remains completely open in all directions, including up-dip towards the surface, where the presence of outcropping limestone indicates a strong potential for shallow mineralization. Key highlights-

Significant intercepts from these initial scout holes include:

ZRSD24158: 23.2m @ 1.3g/t AuEq from 661.8m; and 17.0m @ 3.5g/t AuEq from 744.7m, including 11.0m @ 4.6g/t AuEq from 750.7m.
ZRSD24163: 15.6m @ 2.0g/t AuEq from 391.5m; and 47.4m @ 1.2g/t AuEq from 462.7m, including 10.0m @ 2.7g/t AuEq from 477.4m; and
40.3m @ 2.6g/t Au from 558.1m, including 12.0m @ 5.7g/t Au from 584.4m.
The Kotlovi discovery will be followed up with additional drilling to further delineate the scale and geological controls of the mineralized body and lay the foundations for resource delineation drilling.
Drilling continues with four rigs operating across the Rogozna Project, with assay results pending for multiple holes, including the initial up-dip extensional holes completed at the Gradina Prospect.

Expanded mineralized system at Gradina

On 5^th Feb 2025, the company announced significant assays from its additional five diamond drill holes completed in late 2024 at the Gradina Prospect, part of its 100%-owned ~5.4Moz AuEq Rogozna Gold and Base Metals Project in Serbia, with significant intercepts ZRSD24174: 14.3m @ 8.0g/t Au from 516.9m; ZRSD24171: 6.0m @ 4.7g/t Au from 430.7m; and 6.0m @ 5.7g/t Au from 554.1m; ZRSD24168: 12.0m @ 3.6g/t Au from 441.1m. These results have confirmed the continuity of high-grade gold mineralization at Gradina over approximately 1,000 meters of strike and 900 meters of vertical extent. The mineralization remains open in all directions, including up-dip – where a vertical extent of ~150 to 400 meters below the surface is completely untested. This is a high-priority exploration target that will be a focus for the upcoming 2025 drill campaign, with six rigs scheduled to commence drilling in early March 2025. Strickland remains extremely well-funded, with $33.8 million in cash and NST shares as of the end of the December Quarter. These latest results from Gradina have further validated that this under-explored gold system has the potential to add considerable high-grade ounces to the Rogozna resource inventory.

During the Dec 2024Q, the company announced exceptional results from several holes drilled across the ~5.4Moz AuEq Rogozna Project in Serbia, with the most significant of these results being ZRSD24167 – Shanac High-Grade Gold zone and ZRSD24159 – Medenovac Strike Extension, and ZRSD24163 – Kotlovi, New Discovery. Six diamond rigs are scheduled to re-commence drilling in early March 2025, targeting further resource upgrades and extensions as well as several high-priority exploration targets. With a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate pending for the Medenovac deposit later in Feb 2025 and an MRE update set to follow for the cornerstone Shanac Deposit in Mar 2025, investors will gain a clear line of sight into the significant growth potential at Rogozna.

ACE’s Recommendation

Strickland aims to deliver superior shareholder returns through the discovery of "world-class" mineralized systems. On 1 July 2024, the Company completed the acquisition of the Rogozna Project (Project) in the Republic of Serbia (Acquisition). Rogozna is a large-scale magmatic-hydrothermal system that hosts a skarn-based Au-Cu (+/- Zn, Ag, and Pb) mineralized system and comprises four key prospects: (a) Shanac; (b) Copper Canyon; (c) Medenovac; and (d) Gradina. The Project contains an Inferred Mineral Resource totalling 5.44 Million ounces of gold equivalent (2.99 Million ounces of gold, 214 kilotonnes of copper, and 364 kilotonnes of zinc) with additional significant exploration potential. The company also commenced a comprehensive drilling campaign at the Project. The proposed 60,000-metre diamond drilling plan to end calendar 2025 has been designed to deliver a substantial increase to the current 5.4Moz Au Eq Mineral Resource base. Approximately 35,000 meters of resource definition drilling will be focused on the Shanac and Copper Canyon deposits (both with existing Mineral Resources), as well as Medenovac and Gradina, where the Company is aiming to deliver maiden Mineral Resource estimates in 2025. During the Dec 2024Q, the company announced exceptional results from several holes drilled across the ~5.4Moz AuEq Rogozna Project in Serbia, with the most significant of these results being ZRSD24167 – Shanac High-Grade Gold zone and ZRSD24159 – Medenovac Strike Extension, and ZRSD24163 – Kotlovi, New Discovery. With a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate pending for the Medenovac deposit later in Feb 2025 and an MRE update set to follow for the cornerstone Shanac Deposit in Mar 2025, investors will gain a clear line of sight into the significant growth potential at Rogozna. We believe that several news flows are expected to be released in the coming months with the commencement of follow-up drilling on identified targets. The stock closed the day near its 52-week low at A$0.071/sh and presents an investment case from a long-term view. So, we would like to recommend a SPECULATIVE BUY rating on the stock.

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