The Vares project, owned by UK-listed Adriatic Metals and subject to a solid definitive feasibility study is another polymetallic deposit with historic roots in Bosnia. It currently hosts 466,000 tonnes of zinc, 294,000 tonnes of Lead, 500,000 ounces of gold and 52,000 tonnes of copper.

Strickland has plunged more than 18,000m of drilling into Medenovac to-date. The latest data has now given the company enough information to pull together a maiden resource which could be ready as early as the first quarter of next year.

The company is well-funded with $41.07 million in cash and Northern Star Resources shares as of the end of the September quarter. And with four rigs currently active on site, Strickland’s latest successful drilling results at Medenovac only mark part of a much wider plan to develop up a multi-million ounce mine at Rogozna which already hosts 5.4 million ounces of gold equivalent.

The drill program is working its way through the Shanac, Medenovac and Gradina deposits, with more results expected soon as additional assays are pending.

The plan is then to move one of the rigs to Jezerska Reka. According to Strickland, historical drilling at Jezerska has identified porphyry-related alteration and veining, confirming the prospect as a high-priority target for porphyry-hosted copper-gold mineralisation.

Next year bears all the hallmarks of a breakout year for Strickland. When its Serbian exploits are married up with the promising discovery developments at its Horse Well gold project in Western Australia, the company appears to be growing its inventory of the precious yellow metal at just the right time to grab maximum leverage over the rampant gold price, currently sitting at AU$4245 per ounce.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au