When Australian-listed Strickland Metals began drilling into the steep slopes of Rogozna mountain in southern Serbia, few outside the mining sector paid attention. Serbia is no stranger to foreign miners, and the Raška region — a rugged landscape historically tied to the sprawling Trepča mineral complex — has seen exploration come and go for decades.
But by mid-2024, Strickland’s activity was no longer just another exploration project. The company had doubled down, redirected its corporate strategy, gathered new financing, and publicly positioned Serbia — not Australia — as the centre of its future growth. The Rogozna project, once a side asset, became the company’s flagship.
Today, as the drills keep turning, Strickland Metals stands at the intersection of two opposing trajectories: the strong geological potential of the Rogozna deposits — and the rising public pushback against mining across Serbia. What happens next could define not just the company’s future, but the future of the country’s broader mining landscape.
The Serbian pivot: Why Strickland chose the Balkans
From Perth to Raška: A strategic recalibration
Strickland Metals (ASX: STK) built its reputation through a portfolio of Australian gold projects, particularly around Yandal and Western Australia. Yet in 2023–2024 the company began what can only be described as a strategic pivot: selling Australian assets, securing capital, and funnelling expertise into a single project — Rogozna.
The reason was simple: scale.
Rogozna, located near the city of Novi Pazar and north of the Kosovo border, sits within the famous Tethyan Metallogenic Belt — a mineral system responsible for many of the Balkans’ largest copper, gold, and polymetallic deposits.
The region has produced minerals since Roman times and hosts some of Europe’s largest base-metal operations, including:
- Zijin’s Bor and Majdanpek copper complexes in eastern Serbia
- Skouriotissa and Olympias further south along the belt
- The historical Trepča mines, once among Europe’s most prolific lead-zinc districts
Strickland’s team saw the potential early. What began as a promising exploration license quickly matured into a multi-deposit project covering nearly 184 square kilometres and containing an inferred 7.4 million ounces of gold-equivalent — a figure large enough to attract the attention of major miners and commodity analysts.
A decisive acquisition
In 2024, Strickland made its boldest move yet: acquiring Betoota Holdings and its Serbian subsidiary in a transaction valued at around US$37 million, giving Strickland full control of the Rogozna project.
This was not a traditional “farm-in” or minority stake. It was a takeover — a purchase signalling long-term commitment.
Alongside the acquisition, Strickland announced:
- expanded drilling campaigns,
- environmental and social baseline studies,
- new financial inflows, including investment from China’s Zijin Mining,
- a corporate shift toward Serbia-focused reporting.
For a mid-tier exploration company, such consolidation is unusual. But it reflected a belief that Rogozna was not just another drill target — it was an anchor asset.
The Geology: What Strickland thinks it has found
Rogozna’s multi-deposit system
The Rogozna project is not a single deposit, but a cluster of mineralized zones including:
- Gradina
- Medenovac
- Sastavci
- Malo Brdo
- additional peripheral anomalies under active drilling
Each zone shows a combination of:
- gold (Au),
- zinc (Zn),
- lead (Pb),
- silver (Ag),
- copper (Cu) in some intervals.
The breakout drill result
The moment that changed investor sentiment came with a headline-grabbing intercept at the Gradina deposit:
- 702.5 metres of continuous mineralization,
- including sizeable sections averaging around 0.9 g/t Au and 0.6% Zn.
Long, continuous intercepts are rare in gold exploration — especially in Europe. The result triggered a surge of interest and positioned Strickland as one of the most discussed small-cap miners on the ASX.
Why the Balkans matter for future metals
Europe is under pressure to reduce reliance on imported raw materials. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act singles out copper, zinc, and gold as strategic for:
- battery and EV supply chains,
- industrial production,
- renewable energy infrastructure,
- financial stability.
The Western Balkans — and Serbia in particular — are increasingly seen as part of Europe’s solution.
For Strickland, this emerging geopolitical demand aligns perfectly with its geology.
The business logic: Develop, partner, or sell?
Is Strickland preparing the project for sale?
In the mining world, junior explorers use a well-known development cycle:
- Acquire early-stage asset
- Drill aggressively to build resource value
- Publish studies to de-risk the project
- Sell to or partner with a major miner
Strickland’s moves — especially the acquisition and consolidation — seem designed to maximize future valuation. But there is no evidence that the company is preparing an immediate exit.
Instead, Strickland is:
- raising capital for drilling,
- publishing technical updates,
- commissioning environmental and social studies,
- negotiating with potential strategic partners,
- strengthening its technical team in Serbia.
This behaviour aligns with asset maturation rather than short-term sale.
Zijin’s involvement: A signal?
Zijin, one of the world’s largest copper and gold producers, has already invested in Strickland’s Serbian venture. This is not trivial.
Zijin operates all major copper mines in Serbia. Its interest in Rogozna could:
- accelerate development,
- provide processing capacity,
- create a path to future joint venture,
- pressure regulators to support the project.
Such early-stage involvement often indicates that the major miner sees long-term potential.
Still, the strategic direction remains ambiguous enough for both outcomes — sell or build — to remain on the table.
The local picture: Growing unease and silent friction
A region historically shaped by mining
The Raška/Novi Pazar area carries deep mining heritage. Trepča — once the industrial heart of Yugoslavia — operated nearby for decades. Generations found jobs in geology, mining, processing, and metallurgy.
But today the region is different:
- younger residents leave for Western Europe,
- agriculture and tourism shape the local economy,
- environmental concerns have grown,
- public trust in foreign mining companies has weakened,
- communities feel excluded from decision-making.
Strickland enters this landscape at a sensitive moment.
Local concerns emerging around Rogozna
Although public protests around Rogozna remain small compared to Serbia’s mass anti-mining demonstrations elsewhere, warning signs are visible:
- Local geologists have publicly warned that a mine at Rogozna could damage soil, forest, and water resources.
- Local media in Novi Pazar documented concerns about “large quantities of samples” being removed from the mountain.
- Some residents argue that they were not sufficiently informed about the scale of exploration.
- Environmental activists in southern Serbia have begun linking Rogozna to broader anti-mining campaigns.
- The term “Rogozna” increasingly appears in social media discussions about mining risks.
Many locals express the same sentiment:
“We do not oppose progress, but we do not want another Trepča-type legacy.”
The lithium effect: How Rio Tinto changed the public mood
The rejection of the Jadar lithium-borate project in western Serbia fundamentally shifted national psychology. What began as a local protest became a country-wide movement that:
- forced the government to suspend Rio Tinto’s permits,
- mobilized thousands in Belgrade and dozens of towns,
- created nationwide distrust toward all large mining projects.
Strickland, despite being unrelated to lithium, now faces a public conditioned to assume the worst about mining.
Serbia’s mining paradox: Strategic opportunity vs. social resistance
A country eager to be a mineral hub — but losing public support
Serbia is caught between two forces:
- Its strategic ambition — to become a regional center for the extraction and processing of critical minerals for the European market.
- Public opposition — increasingly vocal, environmentally driven, politically sensitive.
The government has signed memoranda with the EU on raw-material value chains and green technologies, and it actively courts foreign mining investment. Yet it struggles to balance:
- environmental regulations,
- investor expectations,
- political stability,
- community rights.
This contradiction places Strickland in a difficult position: welcomed by officials, questioned by citizens.
Regulatory challenges ahead
To move from exploration to exploitation in Serbia, a company must obtain:
- environmental impact assessments,
- water management permits,
- biodiversity studies,
- community consultation approval,
- detailed mining plans,
- government-level approvals.
Every one of these steps is now subject to public scrutiny.
Mining companies operating in Serbia increasingly say:
“The technical part is easy. The social licence is the real problem.”
Environmental fears: What residents are worried about
Local opposition is not uniform, but concerns cluster around several key issues:
1. Water contamination and runoff
Rogozna sits above rivers feeding agricultural valleys. Residents fear:
- acid drainage,
- heavy-metal leakage,
- contamination of drinking water,
- impact on livestock and crops.
2. Tailings and waste storage
Large mines require vast tailings dams. The Balkans have experienced several industrial spills over decades, leaving long-term scars.
3. Deforestation and landscape change
The mountain’s forests support wildlife, local tourism, and community livelihoods.
4. Trust — or lack of it
Communities repeatedly say they do not trust environmental assessments prepared by private consultants.
5. Land value and displacement
Families fear losing property — or having its value reduced — if industrial mining expands.
Can Strickland secure a social licence to operate?
The company’s challenge
Strickland Metals must do what many miners in Serbia have struggled to achieve:
- transparent communication,
- early community involvement,
- clear environmental commitments,
- benefits for local residents,
- avoidance of secrecy and excessive security measures,
- full alignment with international standards (IFC, EBRD, EU).
