Australian-listed Northstone Resources is concentrating its gold and copper strategy on Serbia, with the Tlamino gold-silver project advancing toward further development work and the Timok East copper-gold project providing additional exploration exposure near Bor. The company, formerly known as MinRex Resources, began trading under the Northstone Resources name and ASX ticker NRL following its merger earlier this year with Canada’s Electrum Discovery. The combination brought the two Serbian assets into the Australian-listed group, establishing Serbia as Northstone’s current development and exploration focus.
Tlamino resource enters next evaluation phase
Northstone’s most advanced Serbian project is Tlamino, which covers more than 400 square kilometres across two granted exploration permits and three additional permit applications along the Serbo-Macedonian metallogenic belt. The project’s Barje deposit has an inferred resource of approximately 7.1 million tonnes grading 2.9 grams per tonne gold-equivalent, representing around 670,000 ounces of gold-equivalent. The resource includes approximately 570,000 ounces of gold and 8.8 million ounces of silver.
Northstone plans to increase confidence in the existing Barje resource through infill drilling, while step-out drilling is intended to test extensions. The company also plans to examine additional targets along the Barje-Liska structural corridor. A 2021 preliminary economic assessment previously examined Barje as a potential conventional open-pit gold-silver operation. Northstone intends to update the project’s technical and economic studies using new geological information and current commodity-price conditions, which differ from those prevailing when the earlier assessment was prepared.
Development work moves beyond exploration
The next stages at Tlamino include resource conversion, updated economic studies, environmental work and Serbian permitting, followed by assessment of a potential pathway toward feasibility and financing. The project therefore has a defined precious-metals resource and previous economic analysis, while the planned drilling and technical studies are aimed at advancing the level of confidence in its development potential.
Timok East targets copper-gold mineralisation near Bor
Northstone’s second Serbian asset, Timok East, represents an earlier-stage exploration opportunity in the Bor mining district. The project is located approximately 2 kilometres from the Veliki Krivelj copper mine and 5 kilometres from the Bor mining complex, placing its licences within an established copper-gold district.
Geophysical surveys have identified two conductive zones at depths of roughly 250 to 550 metres below surface. Northstone interprets the anomalies as possible intrusive or hydrothermal systems that could be associated with concealed porphyry copper-gold mineralisation. The company plans additional modelling and target ranking before proceeding with initial diamond drilling. Timok East was previously selected for BHP’s Xplor programme, while a commercial discovery at the project has not yet been established.
Serbian assets form separate stages of the mining pipeline
Northstone’s portfolio covers different stages of the mining development process. Tlamino has an established precious-metals resource and previous economic work, while Timok East is focused on testing exploration targets within a major copper-gold district. Serbia’s copper industry includes large-scale operations around Bor and Čukaru Peki, while Northstone represents listed exploration capital directed toward drilling and resource development before a mine has been established.
The company’s Serbian portfolio therefore combines an asset moving into renewed development and evaluation work with a higher-risk exploration project positioned close to established copper operations. With Tlamino progressing toward further resource and economic work and Timok East moving toward drill-target definition, Northstone’s Serbian assets now form the core of its gold and copper exploration and development portfolio.
