Serbian election may be tonic for Strickland
Strickland Metals (ASX:STK) looks like it could be gaining some traction in the market, driven by the rising price of gold and a political shift in Serbia. The company’s share price has been cut in half over the last four months, dropping to 8.3 cents. That slump left the explorer with a market capitalization of $220 million despite holding a massive gold resource at its Rogozna project in southern Serbia.
Bargain basement valuation
Strickland holds a mineral resource estimate of 9.25 million ounces of gold equivalent, one of the largest resources owned by a junior company on the Australian Securities Exchange. At the current valuation, however, those ounces are being priced at less than $24 each. In a rising gold market, an ounce of indicated and inferred resource in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields is roughly worth $150. If that math applied to Strickland, the market cap would be significantly higher.
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Garimpeiro columnist Barry FitzGerald believes a re-rating of the stock is underway. The catalyst for this shift appears to be a political reset rather than just the commodity price. The Serbian government announced an early election for October, a move that FitzGerald describes as a “reset button” for the country’s politics. This political maneuvering comes as the company faces delays in its exploration drilling program due to a lack of final approvals from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Protests against mining operations have been a factor in the region, with the anti-mining brigade aligning its campaigns with student demonstrations. Strickland announced unexpected delays to its 2026 exploration program in early May, which contributed to the share price drop. With the snap election on the horizon, the column suggests that some of the uncertainty surrounding these exploration approvals might be lifting, even if the actual approvals are still pending.
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Foreign interest returns
Strickland’s cash reserves of $58 million provide a buffer as it waits for the political situation to stabilize and continues with pre-development studies. The presence of major international miners in the country highlights its geological potential. BHP and Rio Tinto both list Serbia as a greenfields exploration target. Rio Tinto maintains its interest despite putting its US$2.5 billion Jadar lithium project on ice due to regional political and environmental pressures.
Strickland is not the only one watching from the sidelines. China’s partly state‑owned Zijin Mining, the world’s third‑largest miner and owner of two copper/gold mines in Serbia, has been building a position in the company. Zijin acquired a 2.4% stake in April last year and its holding has since increased to 7.44%, with the most recent increase coming from the on‑market.
